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Community Corner

Girl Scout Cookie "Go Day"

Town and Country and Manchester Girl Scouts kick off their annual cookie sales Saturday.

Its that time of year again when thousands of area girls start selling Girl Scout Cookies. From Jan. 15 through Jan. 30 the Girl Scouts will be taking orders for cookies to be delivered after Feb 24. All registered Girl Scouts can take your order for cookies.

Despite the cold, Lynn Keith, an eight-year-old Brownie from Troop 3454 in Manchester, was out at 9:15 am on Saturday, or “Go Day” as the Girl Scouts call it. She was ringing the doorbells of her neighbors under the watchful eye of her father.

“I am so excited about selling cookies,” she said. Even though she didn't know what her troop was going to use the money for.

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Her father, Jack , said,” She has been counting down the minutes all morning waiting to go sell cookies.”

This fundraiser is the biggest for the Girl Scouts with all of the money raised staying in the local community. The girls who sell the cookies keep a part of the money for their troop. The troops use the money they raise to take trips, go camping, buy supplies and do community service projects. 

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The girls of Troop 2356 in Manchester have been saving their cookie earnings for a few years to fund a trip to Chicago, according to Troop Leader Dee Vogt.  

"The girls have been together for several years and this has been their goal," Vogt said. "It will be realized this summer."

The Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri, which covers Manchester and Town and Country, uses their portion of the money to train volunteers and run programs for the girls, according to their website.   

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is billed as “largest girl run business in the world.” The program teaches money management, ethics, goal setting and salesmanship among other things, according to information from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.

This year you might notice that the names of the cookies you order have changed. There are two authorized bakers of Girl Scout Cookies in the United States. This year, for cost matters, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri switched bakers to keep cookies at $3.50 a box. Rest assured, the recipe for the old cookies is the same. However, this year the Girl Scouts have introduced a new cookie, Shout Outs. The cookie is a Belgian style caramelized cookie.

“I like the Carmel de Lites," Lynn said when asked about her favorite cookie.

If you are worried about going off your diet when the cookies arrive, the Girl Scouts have a program that allows you to purchase cookies and donate them to the U.S.O. called Cookie Share. When ordering, just tell the scout you would like to donate the cookies.

If you forget to order cookies you still can get your cookies after Feb. 24. Manchester and Town and Country Girl Scouts will be setting up cookie booths outside of local businesses. It's an effort to teach the girls how to run a retail business and helps them raise money.

Like a lot of parents, Lynn's dad said he'll be taking the cookie form to work because he has been asked by several co-workers to bring it in.

“Then the problem is dragging all of those boxes into the office,” Kieth said. “But it is worth it for the girls.”

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