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Girl Scout cookie sales to light up the day
(by Sue Hoffman - March 11, 2010)
Girl Scout cookie sales to light up the day
By SUE HOFFMAN
People commonly turn on their front porch lights at Halloween to show they welcome trick-or-treaters. This week, it's time to put the lights on for another reason - to buy Girl Scout cookies.
As the Girl Scouts celebrate their 98th anniversary and Girl Scout Week from March 7 to 13, they are launching their new "Lights on for Girl Scouts" cookie sales campaign.
Residents who find a sticky note on their front doors know that the Girl Scouts are in the area. The note will tell them what day and time they will be selling the cookies door-to-door. Those interested in making a purchase should just turn on their porch light at the designated time.
Girl Scout cookies are available for cash sales of $3.50 per box. Varieties include thin mints, samoas, trefoils, do-si-dos, tagalongs, lemon chalet cremes, dulce de leche and the new thank-u-berry munch.
Residents may have read or heard that some lemon chalet cremes were withdrawn for quality reasons. None of the affected cookies have been or will be delivered to Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, Marianne Love, business director, said. They were withdrawn before shipments were sent to the area, she said.
Little Brownie Bakers, the maker of Girl Scout Cookies, announced a recall of some of its lemon chalet cremes after they discovered that a few production lots contained oils that were breaking down causing a peculiar off-taste and smell, she said. "These cookies are safe for consumers to eat, but because they did not meet high-quality standards, these batches have been withdrawn from the market and are being replaced. No other Girl Scout cookies are affected."
Since girls sold their first batch of Girl Scout sugar cookies 80 years ago, Girl Scout cookies have become the largest business program led by girls, raising millions of dollars for communities, officials said.
The Lights On program will help sales, said Carol Smith, who's heading cookie sales in Solon. "The weather wasn't that great during pre-orders in December. This is a way everyone can get the cookies they want."
In Solon, Lights On for Girl Scouts takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 13. Thirty-eight Girl Scout troops, with a combined total of 400 Girl Scouts, including kindergartners through high school seniors, are participating, Ms. Smith said.
In addition, 100 Girl Scouts are selling cookies this week and next at several public places around Solon, including Giant Eagle, Solon Center for the Arts and Miles Market. Specific dates and times are on the Little Brownie cookie locator Web site.
"So far this year, Solon troops have already raised over $16,000 in profits," Ms. Smith said. Troops will use the money for a camping trip this spring as well as toward more expensive trips in the future.
Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio staff members and volunteers across 18 counties unloaded semi trucks filled with Girl Scout cookies last week. Girl Scouts have until March 21 to sell additional boxes of cookies through order cards, door-to-door sales, word of mouth, and cookie booths outside of public places such as malls, grocery stores and other retailers.
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