Reading Girl Scouts : Cookie Drop : 2007

This page documents the operation of our cookie drop on February 28 at Camp Rice Moody in Reading from 4:30 PM until 9 PM. Volunteers should arrive at 4PM to be trained. This is a very busy event, so a set of procedures have been designed to make this event function smoothly and efficiently. Consult the Drop Floor Plan (JPG, PDF) for the layout and traffic flow. Essentially you enter in the right door, and proceed through the facility and exit through the left door in a straight line. All the materials for you to pick up will be placed in sequence.

Hand trucks needed! - we need to borrow sturdy hand trucks for the cookie drop. Bring them to Camp Rice Moody on Feb 28th with your name on them before 4PM. You can pick them up at 9PM after the drop is complete.

Each troop is given an approximately 15 minute time interval, and the chart below shows each troop's starting time. The arrival times are every 5 minutes so we expect 3 troops overlapped at a time. However, any delays could increase the number of troops overlapped.

Troop Arrival Times
4:00 volunteer training 4:30 1299 4:35 1293 4:40 1290 4:45 3714 4:50 3718 4:55 1281	5:00 3723 5:05 1304 5:10 3732 5:15 3297 5:20 3731 5:25 1296 5:30 3736 5:35 1266 5:40 3730 5:45 3728 5:50 3708 5:55 1264	6:00 3700 6:05 1285 6:10 3719 6:15 3715 6:20 3703 6:25 3725 6:30 1275 6:35 open 6:40 1268 6:45 1282 6:50 3735 6:55 1265	7:00 3712 7:05 3711 7:10 3716 7:15 1262 7:20 1294 7:25 1271 7:30 open 7:35 3706 7:40 1287 7:45 3724 7:50 3722 7:55 3705	8:00 1283 8:05 1261 8:10 1269 8:15 1278 8:20 3734 8:25 3733 8:30 1270 8:35 3717 8:40 3729 8:45 open 8:50 1263 8:55 SU

Troop Arrival Times

4:00 volunteer
     training




4:30 1299
4:35 1293
4:40 1290
4:45 3714
4:50 3718
4:55 1281

Troop Pickup Procedure
Read page 18 of your blue Troop Cookie Manager "2007 Cookie Book" Enlist one or more assistants (children must wait in the car if they are riding with you). Bring your own handtrucks if you have them. Arrive at your assigned time promptly and with a vehicle (or two) large enough to fit your cookies. See the vehicle chart for details. Check in with the Cookie Chair at the "Check In Table" and get a Guide Sheet that lists exactly how many cases and boxes of each type to expect. If we are overloaded you may be asked to wait for a few minutes. Borrow a handtruck or two at this time if you need them. Follow the traffic plan to make your way along the cookie pickup path, looking for a Pile Card for each cookie type with your troop number that will be attached to a stack of cases and separate boxes. Keep loading your cases and boxes until your hand truck is full, and then transport it to your car, and loop back for more. Obey the one-way traffic flow in the building! Initial your Guide Sheet next to the block for that cookie type when you have loaded all of that type. Keep making your rounds with the handtruck until your order is loaded into your vehicle. Pay attention not to block the main flow as approximately three other troops will overlap with your time assignment. When your vehicle is fully loaded, return handtrucks if you borrowed them. Check out with the Cookie Chair, showing the initialed Guide Sheet for all cookie types. The Cookie Chair will provide a Receipt for your complete order, which you will need to sign. You will receive a copy. Exit the premises.	Guide Sheet Pile Card Receipt

Volunteers: You should arrive promptly at 4PM (if in a starting slot) and receive direction on how the cookie drop will proceed. You are expected for your full scheduled time, unless you arrange additional volunteers to swap with you. The current volunteer schedule is here.

Volunteer Procedure
Arrive promptly at 4 PM for training. If you have a later time slot you will receive "on the job" training. You will be given a stack of Pile Cards for a single cookie type. These are ordered by the troop arrival time. This is all your will need to execute your task. An assembly area is setup with 4 sections at the outer end of your cookie row, where you will keep constructing each troop's pile of cases and boxes. Take the top pile card, gather the right number of cases and boxes into one section of your assembly area. Maintain a single open case to provide individual boxes as needed. When a troop's order is completely assembled, attach the Pile Card facing outwards, indicating this order is ready for pickup. Slide it towards the front of the assembly area. As troops come through, your assembly area will have room to assemble more orders. We hope you will be able to work ahead for 2 or 3 troop piles so that troops coming through will not be waiting for you. If your assembly area is blocked by a missing troop, you can push those piles to the "Delayed Pickup" area. Make sure the Pile Card is affixed to the top of the pile.	Pile Card

Extra details

Here is a collection of knowledge nuggets determined while executing the drop. Some of useful to the Drop Manager, others are useful to the volunteers that help with the drop, and some may be informative for the troops collecting cookies.

When laying out the floor plan, measure the space first with a long ruler or obtain a floor plan. Each palette is 40x48 inches square and less than 80 inches high.

Divide out the number of cases by the cases per palette number to determine the number of palette footprints (or fractions thereof) to layout. For 2007 the cases per palette are:

Carmel Delites : 162
Peanut Butter Patties : 162
Shortbread : 187
Thin Mints : 180
Peanut Butter Sandwiches : 187
Cartwheels : 162
Thanks-a-lots : 140
Lemonades : 140

Remember to leave access space between the palette stacks. At least 2.5 feet is needed for normal people to pass.

Be careful of the case stacks toppling as they are disassembled. Good truckers will cross stack the cases to prevent uncoupled towers of cases from wobbling.

Reading Girl Scouts - Cookie Sales