Central Florida Girl Scouts still have 168K boxes of unsold cookies
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Girl Scouts of Citrus Council said they have taken a bite out of their cookie oversupply with the help of the community but still have 168,000 boxes of cookies to sell.
Two months ago, FOX 35 reported on how the coronavirus pandemic significantly affected Girl Scout cookie sales. Girl Scouts of Citrus Chief Operating Officer Crystal Jones said fewer Girl Scouts participated in selling cookies and cookie booths were limited because of the pandemic. But after putting out the call for the community’s help, Jones said they have sold 12,000 cases of cookies.
Jones said they are grateful for the help.
"The community has just responded so overwhelmingly. We’ve got people calling, requesting cookies for their homes, their businesses."
She said people have also been donating money to the Girl Scouts Care to Share Program, which allows them to donate cookies to local charities. Since the call-to-action, $90,000 has been donated, allowing the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council to expand its cookie donation efforts.
RELATED: Florida Girl Scout group struggling to sell over 200,000 boxes of cookies
Give Kids the World Village in Kissimmee received 12,000 boxes of cookies on Tuesday. The non-profit organization fulfills the wishes of seriously ill children, allowing them to visit its resort and amusement parks in central Florida.
VP of Advancement and Give Kids the World Steve Amos said the cookies will be part of the gifts families receive in their hotel rooms.
"I think what this last year has shown us, is that when we work together we’re stronger and I think it’s really something special when two charities in the same community are partnering together."
The Girl Scouts said they also recently donated 12,000 boxes of cookies to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida and the military.
"We’re trying to really explore and we’re open to any organization that we can support," Jones said.
Girl Scouts are also still thinking of ways to get the cookies into the community. Senior Girl Scout Carley Fay, 15, said, "We went to an event called VillaCon at a convention center. We’ve never done one of those before."
"It was pretty innovative," said Senior Girl Scout Madelyn Gaffin. "There were so many nice people. We sold so many cookies. Someone bought 4 cases of cookies all at once. I think we ended up selling around 313 boxes of cookies which is really good."
Jones said the business community has been a great help as well.
"We’re continuing to partner with our business community. We have some businesses that are doing some challenges out there. They’re donating money to donate for cookies to donate to organizations and they’re challenging other businesses to do the same."
She hopes the community will continue supporting their efforts as they try to sell the remaining 12,000 cases of cookies.
To support the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council and find cookies, visit their website.