TAMPA, Fla. — It’s that time of year, from the grocery store parking lot to the break room at work to knocking at your front door, everywhere you look, Girl Scout Cookies are for sale.
Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Troop 33322 invited ABC Action News to their main warehouse, where they picked up all the cookies.
“I was just amazed and excited that I got to be here today,” said girl scout Braelyn Frease, regarding the news visit.
Last year the troop combined to sell more than 28,000 boxes.
“Some of the girls do door-to-door, not all. Some of them just take wagons around to businesses. I tell them and all the new girls' moms just take cookies with you everywhere you go,” said scout mom Julie McGlinsey.
However, these girl scouts say wearing the uniform represents so much more than just cookies, it’s pride, its camaraderie and it’s dedication.
The Girl Scouts are very goal-oriented. Every year, they plan a trip based on the amount of cookies they sell, and each year it seems like they shatter a new record.
“So this troop did what we love to see girls do, they went out and they dreamed big and they came up with big goals that they wanted to achieve, and they came up with plans to achieve those goals,” said Sarah Abels, CFO for Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.
This past summer, 15 of the Girl Scouts in the troop sold enough cookies to go on a trip all the way to the Pacific Northwest.
“We got to go on a plane with all of our friends, and we stayed at a Girl Scout camp in South Washington, we went to Mt. Rainier National Park, and we spent some time in Seattle,” said Girl Scout Bella Vielledent.
“We went in June and they still had snow, it was like 70 degrees up there and it was over there snowing, and so we had so much fun playing in the snow because we’re from Florida we don’t get any snow here,” said girl scout Vivian Abston.
“One of the places that we went to was the Funko Store in Everett, Washington,” said Girl Scout Gabbie McGlinsey. “I got to make me as a funk pop and I put my cat in there. I think it's nice because some people think all we do is sell cookies.”
The Girl Scouts are already planning ahead for next summer when they hope to travel to Boston.
“Girl Scouts gives us the opportunities that I wouldn’t get anywhere else,” said Vielledent.
