Girl Scouts kick off cookie season with Mega Drop

Marcia Moore, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
·2 min read

Mar. 7—SELINSGROVE — Girl Scout Troop 60027 leaders Kim Fullam and Courtney Ulmer needed two vehicles Saturday to pick up the 120 cases of cookies sold by their five members.

"They did that with five girls. That's incredible," said Michelle Jinks, product program associate director at Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania (GHSPA), as she loaded boxes of cookies into Fullam's vehicle at the annual Girl Scout Cookie Mega Drop held in the Susquehanna Valley Mall parking lot.

The event was one of four held in the 30-county region the GSHPA serves. More than 30,000 cases, each containing 12 boxes of cookies, were dropped off to individual troops.

Jinks said pre-sales are down slightly this year, but cookies are still available for purchase between March 12 and April 11.

Fullam took over the leadership of the Troop 60027 in Mifflinburg this year.

"It's definitely a challenge" of occasionally having to hold meetings by Zoom, she said. "But the girls are so excited" to take part in the fundraiser.

They kept pace with last year's cookie sales by doing many online orders, Fullam said.

"Everyone wants Girl Scout cookies," said Jordan Hassinger who along with his wife, Mary, the leader of Troop 60321 in Richfield, picked up 53 cases for her group and Troop 60322 led by her mother, Michelle Feltman. "Thin Mints and Do-si-dos are my favorites."

Carson Day was tapped by four troops from Beaver Springs to pick up 245 cases of cookies in his large trailer.

"I'm doing it for a friend," he said, as volunteers spent several minutes filling his vehicle with boxes of Tagalongs, Lemon ups, Samoas, S'mores and other varieties.

GSHPA officials are asking the public to help its members safely deliver cookies in person by hosting Cookie Booths where Scouts will be able to sell cookies on weekends between March 13 and April 11; allow troops to set up a drive-thru location in a business parking lot and display posters that contain information directing customers where to purchase cookies.

"By holding a Girl Scout Cookie Booth you are nurturing our Girl Scouts ability to continue to build those critical interpersonal and communication skills that the Girl Scout Cookie program provides," said GSHPA President and CEO Janet Donovan.

All participating locations will be featured in the national Cookie Finder app and on the GSHPA website. To participate, contact Caroline Jaeger at cjaeger@gspha.org or visit gshpa.org