Date:  February 21, 2008

CONTACT:  Mary Riherd Broomfield, Marketing and Public Relations Director
                (626) 445-7771, ext. 313, mbroomfield@gsmwvc.org


Cookies Great and Tall!
Girl Scouts kick off cookie booth sales with cookie extravaganza

Arcadia, CA— Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council will team up with the California School for the Culinary Arts at Paseo Colorado in Pasadena on Friday, March 29, for a cookie extravaganza of gigantic proportions.  A variety of showcase events will kick off Southern California cookie booth sales which begin that day and continue through March 22, 2008.

Local Girl Scouts will help Baking Club students put the finishing touches on a spectacular 60+” Samoa Cookie.  They will also work with area engineers to construct the “Tallest Cookie Tower” and attempt to break the Guinness World Record.  The event, which is being held at The Garfield Promenade at Paseo Colorado, runs from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public.

Girl Scouts have been taking individual cookie orders since mid-January but Friday, March 29 marks the beginning of the cookie booth sale phase of the Cookie Program. Don’t miss your chance to support Girl Scouting with a purchase of delicious Girl Scout Cookies that are available only once a year. The Girl Scout Cookie Program funds activities for troops, maintains Girl Scout camps, provides training opportunities for adults and provides outreach programs for girls with limited financial resources.

The cookies, which sell for $4 a box, can be ordered from neighborhood Girl Scouts or at booths in front of many grocery stores and other public places now through March 22, 2008.  To place an order with a local Girl Scout, call the Council Office at (626) 445-7771, ext. 305. You can also visit www.girlscoutssocal.org to find a booth location near you or e-mail girlscoutcookies@gsmwvc.org to place an order.

The sale features eight varieties, including Thin Mints, Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Trefoils, TagaLongs and All Abouts.  Plus this year’s new addition, Lemon Chalet Cremes and a new one especially good for diabetics, Sugar-Free Chocolate Chips.  And this year ALL Girl Scout Cookies are 0% trans fats!

In the cookie program, girls participate in cookie activities that help develop skills they can apply throughout their lives.  Girls practice the basics of money management and marketing and develop strong leadership and networking skills. In addition to the tremendous practical education in business the Cookie Program provides, girls put into practice the values that are at the core of Girl Scouting.

The cookie program, one of America’s leading business and economic literacy programs for girls, is also an opportunity for the girls and the community to give back to others.  Cookie packages can be purchased for military troops through Operation Gratitude.  A number of troops also designate a non profit agency as the recipient of cookie packages as part of a service project.

Girl Scouts – Mt. Wilson Vista Council serves more than 9,000 girls and young women, ages five to 17, in 23 San Gabriel Valley communities. The Council is chartered by Girl Scouts of the USA, the world's preeminent organization for girls. Today, as when founded in 1912, Girl Scouts builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place.   For more information on how to register your daughter, volunteer your time or donate to the Girl Scouts, call (626) 445-7771 or visit www.gsmwvc.org.



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