GREENFIELD — For 66 years, local Girl Scout troops have been at the helm of a winter sports equipment sale that teaches them marketing and management skills.
This year, Bernardston Troop 40566 will lead the sale, which will be held at the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. Used items for consignment sale or for donation may be dropped off Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.
With local troops having passed the sale down over the course of generations, the fundraiser has become a seasonal tradition.
“When we say we’re probably the oldest Girl Scout-affiliated ski sale in the country, we are,” said Tina Crocker, leader of Troop 40566.
As a fundraiser for the troop, the girls sell skis, snowboards, ice skates, snowshoes, hockey equipment, goggles, gloves, hats, clothes and more. They work with a vendor, who helps with appraising the quality and condition of the secondhand equipment, and who helps customers with questions about products, Crocker said.
Proceeds from a sale are split between the Girl Scouts, the vendor and the consigner, if there is one. She said the Girl Scouts also offer raffles for prizes like snowshoes or goggles, and for Girl Scout cookies.
While the sale is going on, a younger troop runs a café, which helps prepare them to take over the sale in the future, Crocker said.
The money the Girl Scouts make from the sale usually goes toward the troop’s end-of-year trip, she said. Past trips have taken them to New York City and the Roger Williams Zoo in Providence, R.I., but the troop hasn’t yet decided what to do this year.
Reach Max Marcus at mmarcus@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 261.