Jamie Parsell
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD —
BY JAMIE PARSELL
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
With her dark brown eyes, sweet smile and outgoing personality, Jasmine Earp from Richlands is the perfect saleswoman. Starting in January, the 11-year-old began selling Girl Scout cookies for troop 2176. By March, she ended up selling 2,010 boxes of the popular Samoas, Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Jasmine’s personal favorite — Dulce de Leches.
But how did she convince the residents of the two Virginias to buy and eat so many Girl Scout cookies?
“I told people they were sweet and made fresh. You can freeze them and put them in ice cream. And you can only get them once a year,” Jasmine said.
And if a customer still didn’t look convinced, the Richlands Middle School student would resort to temptation and even a little guilt.
“I would say Dulce de Leche is my favorite. But they would say nah. But then I did the puppy dog eyes. I would open the box and let them try one cookie. If they liked it, they would usually buy a box of cookies,” she said.
Her sales pitched worked like a charm on residents of the two Virginias. Jasmine was one of the top five cookie sellers in the Girl Scouts of the Black Diamond Council, which serves almost 20,000 girls in 61 counties in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio and Maryland. With a count of 2,010 boxes, the Virginia resident came in fourth place.
Of course, the puppy dog tricked worked wonders for the tween’s cookie sales. But Jasmine said it took courage to speak to potential customers at various locations. In her quest to achieve her cookie badge and sell the most cookies, she set up displays at stores and restaurants in the Richlands and Bluefield, Va., areas. For three weeks, she spent every evening at one local store, using her red wagon to sell cookies to customers.
“Jasmine went out in the snow and the rain,” her grandmother Janet Earp said. “She worked really hard.”
She even took her cookies and wagon to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, where she receives treatment for Myoclonic Dystonia. Diagnosed before age 2, the disorder affects fine motor skills, causing Jasmine to jerk uncontrollably. When she gets tired, she loses the ability to walk. Sometimes she needs a wheelchair on long trips. But she didn’t let the disorder affect her cookie business.
“When I got tired, I would just get in my wagon,” Jasmine said.
At school, the seventh grader has a scribe to help with writing and at home, her grandmother feeds her certain foods like soup. With her fatigue and jerking motions, the Richlands tween has had to give up a lot of her favorite physical activities.
“Last year when I played baseball, I ran to second base and an umpire picked me up and ran me to home plate,” Jasmine said.
But running became difficult and Jasmine had to quit playing for her team, The Reds. She also stop taking dance lessons this year. But one passion — Girl Scouts and the cookie business — is an activity Jasmine can participate in, regardless of her limitations. She began participating in the all-girl troop three years ago.
“I thought it would be more entertaining that just sitting at home and watching TV,” Jasmine said. “I thought I would give it a try.”
After her first year, her grandmother Janet became the troop leader. She is especially proud of her granddaughter’s cookie success, but equally proud of her desire to help other children. During the cookie campaign, Jasmine gave 250 boxes of her cookies to a new girl, who joined the troop after the cookies were already distributed to the scouts. Jasmine said she wanted the new girl to be able to earn her cookie badge. She also gave away 60 boxes to her friend, Haley Hampton, a Daisy in the Girl Scouts. She helped the kindergarten student sell cookies at local stores. The extra cookies would have added to Jasmine’s total in cookie sales — she was only 105 boxes behind the third place winner from Fairmont. But both her grandmother and Jasmine are happy with fourth place.
“We knew what Jasmine did for the other girls,” Janet said. “I was ecstatic because I felt she deserved to win.”
But what motivated the tween to sell so many cookies? Jasmine admits it was the picture of a purple electronic scooter. When she found out she was a top seller, she became very excited.
“I want to get my scooter as the prize,” she said.
Hardwork. Determination. One would think Jasmine has plans to become a saleswoman or a business leader. But she said she likes helping other children and plans to one day work with children as a career.
“I don’t know what exactly I want to do though. I like children, but there is a whole lot you can do with kids. They are so cute and cuddly,” she said.
Next year, she plans to sell 3,000 boxes of cookies. She will also possibly undergo deep brain stimulation to help correct the rare disorder. Her brother Morgan — a 10-year-old with the same diagnosis — underwent the surgery at age 5 in Virginia.
“They adjusted it two months ago and we have seen a great change in him. He can now carry a cup of coffee without spilling it,” Janet said. “The disorder doesn’t affect his legs, but it does with Jasmine.”
But for now, Jasmine plans to enjoy her prize — the purple scooter and helmet. She will also visit Canada with her fellow Girl Scouts and take a trip to Carowinds in North Carolina. As for the cookies? Any leftover cookies from the troop will be donated to the miner’s families of Upper Big Branch, Janet said. But Jasmine’s favorite cookie might be in danger. The petite tween claims she can eat 10 boxes of Dulce de Leche cookies — in between a sales pitch, of course.
— Contact Jamie Parsell at jparsell@bdtonline.com.
