Somehow this article was lost in the shuffle of Superstorm Sandy stories I wrote in January. Nonetheless, I believe these young girls deserve their due publicity...
All 17 girls of Brownie Girl Scout Troop 589 sat quietly on the floor of the Ethel A. Jacobsen Elementary School library in Surf City last Thursday, Jan. 24, while troop leader Melanie Magaziner recited the safety rules of selling Girl Scout cookies. Clad in brown vests, decorated with colorful patches earned through participation in the many different programs provided by the global organization, the 8- and 9-year-old girls shared secret whispers and muffled giggles in-between. Their hushed excitement foreshadowed craft time, when pencils were decorated with pink or white foam hearts, bedecked with green and yellow peace signs and enticing phrases they’re hoping will charm customers into purchasing a box or two of their group’s cookies at upcoming booth sales, where most of the transactions are made.
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| Photo by Kelley Anne Essinger Haley Skimmons, 8, of Loveladies and Keira Anderson, 8, of Barnegat Light show off some of the crafts they made for their booth sales. |
Besides the excitement, this year’s cookie sales have taken on added significance. Every year people can choose to buy cookies that are then donated to worthy organizations. This year, however, Troop 589 is earmarking donated cookies in the Gift of Caring program to be given to first responders of Superstorm Sandy.
“I’d say 90 percent of the girls were affected by Sandy and helped by local first responders,” said Magaziner. “They want to show their appreciation by donating these cookies to them.”
All preordered cookies are to be delivered on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Booth sales will take place between Friday, March 1 and Sunday, April 14. Gift of Caring booth orders will be delivered in groups to local fire and police departments and EMTs on Sunday, April 21.
The cookies have only been on sale for about a week so far this year, and the girls have already sold more donated cookies than their total of 53 boxes last year. Even so, selling cookies in general this year has been difficult for some of the girls who have lost customers due to displacement from the storm.
Summer Davis, 8, of Beach Haven, who has been living with her family at a neighbor’s summer home on the Island ever since Sandy devastated her parents’ residence and family business at Foster’s Farm Market, said she has not sold any boxes so far. Last year, she said she sold between 40 and 50 boxes.
“I want to sell the (Gift of Caring) cookies because some people don’t have enough money to buy them,” she said, a hint of sadness in her voice.
Last year, the girls raised enough money from their cookie sales to make a trip to the Philadelphia Zoo, though they never attended due to inclement weather. To make up for it, the group planned to see the Christmas show at Surflight Theatre in Beach Haven, but was unable to do so after Sandy blew through the town. They have decided to donate the money that was to be used for the excursion to the first responders, instead. The money they raise this year will hopefully help them pay for a trip to New York City to see a Broadway play.
The fundraiser “is a big deal for the girls,” said Trish McDougall, the troop’s cookie mom. “Every year we sell more cookies than the last. I wouldn’t be surprised if we sold over 2,000 boxes this year,” she added. The cookies cost $4 a box.
To receive a participation patch for the Gift of Caring program, a girl must sell five boxes of the Gift of Caring cookies.
“It’s a good cause. Sixty-five cents of each box of cookies goes to the troop, so a lot of the money stays in the community,” said Sally Burnett, assistant troop leader and mother of troop member Anna Burnett. She said her family stayed in their home on the Island during the storm and went weeks without water, and had to scoop buckets from the bay to fill their toilets.
The entire troop said they are happy the first responders were immediately able to help them put their lives back together.
All other regional Girl Scout troops are welcome to donate their Gift of Caring boxes to the area’s first responders. For more information, email Magaziner at m.magaziner@yahoo.com, or call her at 609-276-5591.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
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