The Girl Scouts’ 2007 Cookie Program is off to a rip-roaring start. Through March 18, nearly 17,000 local Girl Scouts in the San Diego-Imperial Council will sell approximately 2.5 million boxes of cookies.
While customers can still expect the usual Samoas, Trefoils, Café Cookies and more, the good news is that all varieties now feature zero grams of trans fat, yet feature the same taste, according to the Girl Scouts.
The Girl Scouts started selling cookies in 1917 to fund troop activities and community projects. The purpose remains to this day, and the program is the nation’s leading business and economic literacy program for girls, according to the organization. Troops set goals, develop marketing skills, learn money management and manage inventory. All proceeds stay local.
For the sixth year, the organization continues with Operation Thin Mint, in which the public can purchase and donate boxes of Thin Mints and other cookies to troops stationed overseas, along with personalized notes of appreciation. Since 2002, military troops have received 825,002 boxes of cookies. This year, Girl Scouts aim to send their millionth box.
“The idea is that everybody in San Diego knows everybody in the military,” said Mary Doyle, spokeswoman for the local Girl Scouts chapter. “So I think, more so than in some parts of the country, people here understand what it means to get a taste of home and a note to show we care.”
The 2007 Operation Thin Mint send-off will take place Saturday, May 12, 9:30 a.m., aboard the USS Midway at the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, 910 N. Harbor Drive. All who participate in Operation Thin Mint are invited to the free event, and Mayor Jerry Sanders will be in attendance.
To purchase and donate cookies, call the council’s Girl Scout Cookie Hotline, (877) 296-MINT. Cards can be downloaded at www.girlscoutssdi.org/otm, and completed cards can be returned to any Girl Scout office in Balboa Park (1231 Upas St.), Escondido, Carlsbad or El Centro.