Buy an extra box

Published 9:58 pm Monday, January 23, 2017

There’s more than a passing chance that someone you know is hawking Girl Scout cookies right now. Whether it’s the young girl next door wearing the tan vest or her mother making a marketing post on Facebook, sales pitches for the annual treats are part of the fabric of life this time of year.

And if by some fluke of missed social connections, you haven’t heard from someone selling cookies, Lakeland High School’s Kristen Boone would surely be eager to help you out. For the last five years, Boone has been the top seller of Girl Scout cookies in Suffolk, and she’s working hard to make this year her sixth in the lead, according to Scouting officials. Last year, she sold 1,304 boxes of the sweet treats. This year, her last year as a Girl Scout, she has set her sights high and set a goal to sell 3,000 boxes of cookies. That’s a lot of Do-si-dos.

Girl Scout troops do a huge variety of things with the money they raise from selling cookies. Some of them use the funds for trips and other group experiences. Others use the funds for community projects.

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Boone’s troop, Troop 694, for example, has used its earnings to give back to the community. Last year, the girls purchased school supplies for an elementary school in Suffolk, purchased food to help feed more than 150 families through East End Baptist Church and bought Christmas presents for six girls from the Angel Tree at the church. The troop also donated Girl Scout cookies to the food pantry at the church.

Let’s face it: Nobody really needs a good reason to order Girl Scout cookies. Everybody has a favorite, and it can be hard once you get started not to eat a whole sleeve in one sitting.

But in case you’re still on the fence about this year’s purchase, think of the difference these young ladies are making in their communities.

And then buy an extra box or two.