Carla: From Cookie Sales to a Lifetime of Giving Back

September 14, 2026

Long before Carla built a career in development and fundraising, she was a Girl Scout learning how to ask for support; one cookie customer at a time.

As a young Girl Scout, Carla was elected president of her troop and proudly sold more Girl Scout Cookies than anyone else in her troop. At the time, she didn’t realize just how much she was learning.

Cookie sales taught her how to set goals, build confidence, connect with people, tell a story, and ask others to support something she believed in. Looking back, Carla believes those early experiences helped inspire her eventual career in development and fundraising.

The lessons continued beyond Girl Scout Cookie season. Camping adventures gave her opportunities to learn new skills, spend time outdoors, build friendships, and create memories around a campfire.

And the Girl Scout tradition continued into the next generation.

Carla’s daughter was also a Girl Scout—and a successful cookie seller herself. Carla insisted that she write personal thank-you notes to every cookie customer. She may not have always been thrilled about it, but those notes helped build relationships that turned into recurring customers year after year.

Today, Carla continues to give back to Girl Scouts Spirit of Nebraska, serving on council committees that support fundraising efforts. It’s a meaningful full-circle connection: the organization that helped her discover her strengths as a young fundraiser is one she now helps support as an adult.

From a Girl Scout troop president selling cookies to a career in development, to giving her time and expertise back to Girl Scouts, Carla’s story is a reminder that the skills girls build today can stay with them for a lifetime.

Sometimes, the lessons learned from a box of cookies and a handwritten thank-you note become the foundation for something much bigger.

100 years. Countless stories. One lasting legacy.