Siena Levin is on a quest to earn yet another Girl Scout badge, and she recently received some assistance in this endeavor from the drag queens and gay bar patrons of West Hollywood, a prominent LGBTQ neighborhood in Los Angeles. Siena’s goal is to earn all of the available badges in the organization.
The inquisitive young lady, who is now 7 years old and a member of the Girl Scouts at the Daisy level, which is the beginning level for girls aged 5 to 7 years old, has been a proud member of her Glendale, California-based troop for the last two years. Siena told Yahoo Life that prior to the Girl Scout cookie season, which runs from January to April of this year, she was looking for a location with “high traffic, low competition” so that she could sell as many cookies as possible to raise money for her troop. The cookie season runs from January to April.
Without a doubt, she located it. Siena, together with her mother Jen, her younger sister Riley (who is 4 years old), and Siena’s aunt Julie, sold out of all of their available inventory not once but twice over the course of two consecutive Saturdays in early February. This is because the LGBTQ population in the area is so supportive, and Siena also notes that members of this group are “very wonderful tippers.”
She exclaims that she had a wonderful time. “When we were simply strolling, they would suddenly halt, and when they saw someone purchasing anything, the whole throng would rush in. One of the men who purchased cookies made a remark that truly made us laugh. He exclaimed, “You’re going to make me fat!”
The gang took a stroll together up and down Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, which is the epicenter of the gay community in the area. The street is lined with indoor and outdoor clubs that feature drag acts and go-go boys who greet customers.
“We weren’t sure how people were going to respond initially,” Jen tells Yahoo Life. However, as it turned out, local patrons were so thrilled to see Siena that many of them leaned over patio railings in the hopes of grabbing their share of cookies. “We weren’t sure how people were going to respond initially,” Jen tells Yahoo Life. “There were a few gentlemen at the bar who were interested in assisting us with the sales process. They were shouting for us and encouraging others to pass us on their way past. They asked me something along the lines of, “You want to purchase some cookies? You can pay using Venmo!'”
“Jen continues by saying, “The girls were so self-assured that they simply began shouting on the street, ‘Cookies! Girl Scout cookies!’ to anyone who happened to be walking by.” The wonderful part about it was that everyone was sitting outside of these bars [at curbside tables], so they were all set. There was no need for us to take up residence in front of a commercial establishment or dining establishment.”
She believes that it was fate that led her to the decision to move to West Hollywood in the first place.
“I got up 120 boxes of [cookies], and I said, ‘OK, we’re going to simply go door-to-door selling this, whatever it is that we need to accomplish it,'” Jenn remembers. We had just picked them up and were on our way to see my sister, who lives in West Hollywood when we got the idea to sell Girl Scout cookies.
After experiencing a “nightmarish” experience selling cookies door-to-door the previous year, Jen had been urging Siena to come up with an unconventional idea this time around. Siena was planning on selling cookies door-to-door again.
And West Hollywood, or WeHo as it is more often known in the area, turned out to be the most viable option. On the first day of the cookie sale, Siena sold all of her cookies, which meant that her mother needed to go and pick up a whole new batch. Siena had improved her equipment due to a cart that she had borrowed from a friend by the time they returned the following Sunday. It comes as no surprise that they sold out once again.
“The very first time, we did not yet have a wagon at our disposal. Simply said, we had a number of bags, and I had to show them all of the available selections as I held them out “She mentions that there are thirteen distinct varieties of Girl Scout cookies, ranging from the time-honored favorite Thin Mints to the most recent addition, Raspberry Rally. She also notes that wheeling around her selection was a significant improvement since it allowed them to view the whole variety.
Siena, who says, “I love math so much,” has said that one of her goals in life is to become a math teacher. Siena made about $180 only in tips in West Hollywood. In spite of this, she states that “we have to donate it to the Girls Scouts” in reference to the additional earnings. It’s all going to benefit the troops in the end.
Jen is a mother, and she says that she is grateful for the experience because it taught her daughters “entrepreneurship,” a skill that she hopes they will continue to hone, while also instilling a lesson about kindness and inclusivity. Jen hopes that her daughters will continue to develop this skill in the future. She expresses the hope that other parents would look at it as an example of compassion, love, and community, particularly at this time when hundreds of anti-LGBTQ laws are flooding state courts around the country, notably in Tennessee, which established a draconian prohibition on minors attending drag events.
“I want to educate my kids to be welcoming and kind towards everyone, all types of different individuals,” says Jen, who works as hypnotherapy. “I want to teach my kids to be tolerant and loving toward people of all various backgrounds.” “The energy that our parents send out into the world is truly absorbed by our bodies as children. Our children are picking up on every belief that our parents express verbally or nonverbally and projecting out into the world. Thus, as a parent, I really want to be careful about what I’m doing, and that includes exposing her to and educating her about love, compassion, kindness, and strong business skills.”
“She continues, “I have to admit, I was dreading the Girl Scout season, but [the people] have made it so much fun.” Now that the weekend is here, one of the things we can most look forward to is having some fun on Sunday and selling cookies.”
Siena is of the same opinion, remarking that “everyone was very nice, courteous, and giving.” “They couldn’t get enough of those cookies.”