CHESAPEAKE
From Saturday, Feb. 20, through Sunday, March 20, local Girl Scout troops will be selling Girl Scout Cookies at booths outside of stores and businesses. Customers can enter their ZIP code and find where local booths are set up through the cookie finder at girlscoutscookies.org.

“The cookie program is really important for Girl Scouts,” said Kaitlin Smith, public relations manager for the Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast. “It’s how the girls raise funds to support their activities and community service projects for the rest of the year. It’s also important because they’re learning important skills as they participate in the Girl Scout Cookie Program like money management, goal setting, decision making, people skills and business ethics.”

Though still accepted, cash is no longer the only choice for prospective customers. Troops have the option this year of accepting payment via credit cards for the cookies, which are $4 per box. All proceeds will support local Girl Scouts.

“Girl Scout Troop 5073 uses cookie money to purchase school supplies to donate during their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Keep Unity in Our Community event,” troop leader Kisha Watford said. “The supplies are donated to a different elementary school each year. Additional cookie proceeds will be used to take a trip to Savannah, Georgia, to visit the birthplace of [Girls Scouts USA] founder Juliette Gordon Low and to donate stuffed animals for local firefighters to hand out to children in emergencies. The girls will be collecting cookies this year to donate to residents at Courtland Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.”

Girls Scout Troop 5100 troop leader Rachell Grassman said her troops participate in an Adopt a Grandma program at East Pavilion, and the money raised over the next month fund their activities.

“The troop uses cookie money to purchase personal items and toiletries for their adopted grandmas and to purchase items for bingo nights,” Grassman said. “The troop recently passed out valentines to all of the residents at East Pavilion, and next month, they are hosting a bingo night.”

Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast serves more than 13,000 girls in kindergarten through 12th grade with the help of nearly 6,000 volunteers in northeast North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. For more information, visit www.gsccc.org or call 1-800-77SCOUT.