More than just a cookie

CAREY — Carey Girl Scout Troop 3505 used part of the profits from this year's cookie sales to help brighten Christmas for children in need. They used about $1,300 to provide coats, pajamas and toys for drives in Wyandot County. "They're super sweet, and they're a lot of fun, a very lively group, said troop Leader Mellisa Cole, who is a former Girl Scout herself. She took over as their leader about five years ago but has been involved with the troop since her oldest daughter started kindergarten. "We have a lot of older ones who started when they were also younger, and now their siblings are involved in it," she said. The 14 members range of age from 6 or 7 to 14, she said. The scouts include Harper Ibarra, Kailyn Wolf, Kendall Cole, Ava Luhring, Peyton Diem, Allison Fleece, Remy Rathburn, Allison Mershman, Bella Kessler, Ellington Cole, Anna O'Brien, Oaklynn Shockey, Catalina Ibarra and Raelynn Diem. "Some of the Daisies are moving up to Brownies, and some of the older girls now get to be the next level of Cadets," said Cole. "It's exciting to watch them bridge from every level." The older girls also help with the younger scouts, she noted. "And because it's their troop, it's a chance for the older girls to work on the core principles of Girl Scouts, like leadership and friendship are two of them," she said. "I really like to utilize those in our lessons." And because Girl Scouts is completely girl-led, she said, the scouts themselves decide what they want to do. "We're very thankful. The previous leaders, they had a vision for the group, and we've fostered or used that same blue print when they sell the Girl Scout cookies," Cole said. This year the troop sold 2,187 boxes of cookies, both on their own and at their booth. "I feel like we're really blessed by our community. They support us. The local store lets them have their cookie booth there. Over the years, the girls have even made up their own cookie sale cheer. So not only are they selling cookies, they're also cheering," said Cole. She explained that a percentage of each box of cookies sold comes back to the troop. "And with that, what we usually decide to do is we renew their memberships with the funds. When they get their badges and their new sashes, we also make that purchase for them," she said. "I also like it because it's less of a burden for the parents because it can add up." Meanwhile, they save a portion of the profits, said Cole. "And then we serve others. We donate or we offer something back to the community. And with this season, with the holidays, we thought it would be a good idea to kind of go big or go home with the funds," she said. Their initial idea was to "adopt" some of the names from an Angel Tree at Trinity Evangelical Church in Upper Sandusky. "Since Carey is in Wyandot County, we thought it would be nice to keep it in Wyandot County," she said. But when she got to the church, Cole found that all of the children's names had been taken. "I heard there were more than 300 local children on the list," she said. "I was so happy that everyone was going to have something. I was like, oh, what a nice problem." Unfortunately, it also presented a dillema for the troop - what would they do? Then Cole remembered seeing a flyer on the Wyandot County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. "They had flyers for the toys and pajamas and coats. And I remembered in Carey at Our Lady of Consolation School, they have a Star program for eighth graders, and I remembered Gigi Arnold was collecting gently used or new toys and sports equipment," she said. A coat drive organized by Sarah Zender Kloepfer was also underway at Grace United Methodist Church, Carey. "And I was like, Oh my gosh, these girls are shopping. We have so many opportunities to give back to different programs, and I thought that would be such a good experience for the girls and to help with one of the core principles for Girl Scouts is service, so helping others in the community," she said. On Dec. 2, the girls and some of the parents headed to Findlay to shop at the Tiffin Avenue Walmart. Cole printed out a form for each girl to write down what she had purchased or wanted to give and then the total cost. That way, she said, they kept track of their spending. "We could hear girls laughing and having fun, and they were kind of playing with the toys, too. What girl does not like to go shopping?" Cole laughed. The girls also decided they wanted Chick-fil-A and then Sweet Frog for dessert. During the outing, they talked about why they were doing this, who they were doing it for and how it made the girls feel knowing they worked hard to earn the money. "But then they got to see the reward of purchasing it to give to someone else," said Cole. "I cried. I was such a baby after we made the purchases." She said it's an honor to teach the girls at a young age about giving back to others. "That is also a gift within itself," she said. That's not all the troop has done to help others. Members planted flowers and donated money for people getting groceries. They even left quarters in the machines at the laundromats.