Military personnel to receive over 90,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

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DAYTON — The Girl Scouts of Western Ohio (GSWO) collected more than 7,500 cases of donated cookies, during the 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program, and is partnering with Heroes in Action in Toledo for the 11th year to provide Girl Scout Cookies to members of the military and their families. That’s 90,636 packages donated through the ‘Operation Cookie’ program,a GSWO community service project.

“Throughout the recent Girl Scout Cookie Program, our girls did a fantastic job asking customers to purchase additional packages of cookies to be donated to a designated organization or military group,” said Ashley Thoreen, product sales team leader for GSWO. “Over 1,800 troops participated in ‘Operation Cookie’ this year, and over 208 girls donated 50+ packages each!”

Each year, donations to Operation Cookie have doubled or tripled. Last year, 59,597 boxes were donated to the cause.

“Giving our girls, volunteers, and customers a way to help support men and women serving in the U.S. military really connects them to the world,” said Thoreen. “Many girls/troops include cards and letters of friendship and support in their donated cookies.”

Heroes in Action includes the delicious treats in care packages for military personnel serving overseas and distributes them throughout the year to the National Guard, the 180th, as well as local military families and veterans.

“We are extremely fortunate to be the organization that Girl Scouts chooses to support,” said Dawn Heisler, Director of Heroes in Action. “I get a lot of emails from all over asking if we have cookies, Girl Scout cookies we can send overseas. A unit up in Alaska found us while surfing the web and asked if we had Girl Scout cookies.”

In addition to the Girl Scout Cookies donated through Heroes in Action, local troops also donated over 24,121 packages of cookies to various organizations across western Ohio.

“Operation Cookie is one of my favorite components of the Girl Scout Cookie program,” said Thoreen. “We are able to donate thousands of Girl Scout Cookie packages to our soldiers and local organizations, and our girls learn about philanthropy and the power of giving back to their local communities.”

Girls wishing to join Girl Scouts and participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program in 2017 can visit gswo.org/join or call the regional Girl Scout Service Center at 888-350-5090.

Staff report

About Girl Scouts of Western Ohio

In partnership with more than 13,000 adult volunteers, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio serves more than 42,000 girl members in 32 counties throughout Western Ohio and Southeastern Indiana. A United Way funded agency, all Girl Scouts activities are supported by adult volunteers using girl-led, hands-on, and cooperative learning practices. Chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA, we build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place. For more information, call 888.350.5090, visit gswo.org, or follow Girl Scouts of Western Ohio on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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