Cart is empty 
Alison Cowzer of Dragon’s Den is helping spearhead entrepreneurial initiative
Ireland, 31/10/2017 – Girl Guides all around the country will be selling 30,000 packets of cookies during November as part of the inaugural Irish Girl Guides’ National Cookie Month.
Girl Scouts in the USA are well-known for raising funds through selling cookies but this will be the first time for Irish Girl Guides (IGG) to do so.
Girls from age five-plus will hone their entrepreneurial skills by selling choc-chip cookies to their families, friends and neighbours. By deciding how many packets to order, how to go about selling the biscuits and how they will spend the proceeds of their sales, the girls will develop money management and business skills.
IGG Chief Commissioner Helen Concannon says, “The initiative has been given the hashtag #FutureCEOs, which stands for Creating Entrepreneur Opportunities, and it is hoped that all girls who get involved will develop and strengthen teamwork, communication, money management and goal-setting skills.
“We want to change the imbalance of the number of women in decision-making positions across the various sectors of society such as business, communities, companies and board rooms all around Ireland and beyond. And this begins by giving girls confidence.”
Alison Cowzer of Dragon’s Den is partnering with IGG for the initiative and the choc-chip cookies have been made in the factory that she co-founded – East Coast Bakehouse, which is the biggest biscuit-making facility in Ireland. Ms Cowzer is delighted to lend her support, given that “it could take centuries to achieve equality without serious efforts to bring women into male-dominated spheres such as business and politics.”
She says the #FutureCEOs initiative will help foster a spirit of entrepreneurship among Irish girls and young women.
Irish Girl Guides welcomes new members age 5+ and adult volunteers from age 18+ (no previous Guiding experience is necessary). For further info see www.irishgirlguides.ie or tel: 01-6683898.
ENDS
Contact:
Fiona Murdoch, Communications Officer, Irish Girl Guides. Tel: 085 8570565
Notes for editors:
Irish Girl Guides has approximately 12,000 members. Guiding started in Ireland in 1911 and operates throughout the 26 counties with 1,800 volunteer leaders providing an informal educational programme of fun and challenging activities that foster confidence and leadership skills in girls and young women, enabling them to develop to their full potential and to become responsible citizens. Girls from age 5+ can choose to earn a wide range of badges, including Community Action, Cultural Diversity, Disability Awareness, Drug Awareness, Online Surfer, Science Investigator and Global Traveller.