Girl Scouts: Best Friends, Archery Competitors and Cookie Companions

The story of two archery competitors who built a lifetime friendship and how selling Girl Scout cookies helped bring them together.

Erin lives in Monroe and her interest in archery started when she was just eight years old and saw her grandmother’s bow. She asked her parents what it was and the rest was history. She did lessons and practiced for several years then joined a team that would bring her to tournaments around the country. Erin’s older sister and mother enjoy the sport as well.

For Faith who lives in Shoreline, archery began as more of a family affair. She started shooting when she was just over four years old. She watched her and brother go to archery tournaments with her dad and she wanted to join in on the fun. Her mother Karen even picked up the sport and they all enjoy traveling to competitions together.

When the girls began practicing and competing against each other, they found out that they had another common interest; Girl Scouts. They were in different Girl Scout troops in different cities, but spent a lot of time practicing, traveling and competing in tournaments together. They soon became best friends despite being competitors. Faith stated “nothing really changes when we compete. We’re not different people. We’re not competitive at all and it doesn’t change how we treat people.” Both girls have a goal to make it to the Olympics with archery. During their tense competitions, the girls work together to calm each other’s nerves by making up hand-shakes and singing songs.

When it came time to sell Girl Scout cookies last year, Faith began asking around at practice if anyone wanted to buy cookies. When she realized how many sales were coming in, she decided to split all of her sales with Erin despite being in a different troop. They worked together and supported one another by splitting all of their pre-sales down the middle.

Girl Scouts not only helps girls succeed academically, but also helps them build critical social and emotional skills that result in more confidence, more resiliency, and more overall success in their future careers. This is just one example of girls demonstrating leadership by working together. We believe every girl has an important role to play and when girls succeed, so does society.