The Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona are ending this yearβs cookie season with gratitude as they bring smiles and cookies to workers fighting the pandemic.
This Friday, Southern Arizonaβs Girl Scout troops will hold a daylong βCookies for Our Heroesβ event where participants can drive through select sites and donate boxes of cookies to workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
The Girl Scouts hope to deliver 60,000 boxes to hospital employees, vaccination clinics, fire/ambulance stations and funeral homes.
Theyβve already delivered 240 cookie boxes to the ICU staff at Tucson Medical Center.
The Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona ended three days of cookie distribution with their Cookie Drop Friday, January 15, 2021, handing out 6,000 cases - 72,000 boxes - to 57 troops. All told GSSA hope their 2,400 scouts sell 700,000 boxes this year. Kelly Presnell / Arizona Daily Star
For the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizonaβs Chief of Mission Delivery Elizabeth Locke-Thomas, seeing hospital workers receive the cookies was a reminder of how powerful even small gestures can be to those facing the brutal realities of the pandemic every day.
βIt was just tears, absolute tears. They are exhausted. I think we all know theyβre exhausted, but to physically see the βOh my gosh, you took a moment to thank me,β I mean, I had chills,β she said. βThere was enough for every single person in the ICU to have. The nurses, the orderlies, the doctors, everybody.β
With the help of the community, 1,277 Girl Scouts are set to deliver cookies to those working tirelessly in the battle against COVID-19.
βWe collectively felt that this was very vital for us to come together and ask the community to join us to be a part of this, making the world a better place,β Locke-Thomas said. βThis pandemic has gone on for so long that you sometimes wonder if people are still being thanked.β
The cookie donation drive will be held at several locations across Southern Arizona from 7 a.m. to dusk on March 5. Participants can also buy cookies for themselves, and the last day of cookie sales will be Sunday, March 7.
Cookies can also be donated and purchased online at girlscoutssoaz.org.
The cookie donation drives will take place at:
Angel Charity Place For Girls, 4336 E. Broadway, Tucson.
Chipotle, 18725 S. Nogales Highway, Green Valley.
1831 N. Mastick Way, Nogales.
Native Grounds Coffee Stop, 303 W. 4th St., Benson.
2200 Mercado Loop, Sierra Vista.
Copper Queen Plaza, 2 Main St., Bisbee
Gazebo in front of the Gadsden Hotel, 1046 N. G Ave., Douglas
Tractor Supply Co., 2411 W. U.S. Highway 70, Thatcher.
Walgreens, 1514 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande.
Chiliβs Grill & Bar, 1532 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande.
Photos: Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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Kaycee Livesay, of Troop #247 hands off one of the 300 cases of Girl Scout cookies to John Abbott of Bekins Moving Systems to load into her van at the annual Cookie Drop on January 15, 2021 in Tucson. 2,400 Girl Scouts in Southern Arizona will try to sell nearly 700,000 boxes starting on January 16. Due to the pandemic, Girl Scouts have drive-thru booths, online sales and a partnership with Grubhub for deliveries.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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Colleen McDonald adds to a stack of Samosas being counted out for a troop to take at the Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop, Tucson, Ariz., January 15, 2021.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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CEO Kristen Hernandez pitches in, helping load 280 cases of cookies in Brooke Nicholson's pick-up at the Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop, Tucson, Ariz., January 15, 2021.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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Frank Molina from Bekins Moving Systems adds three cases of Tagalongs to walk-up order being filled during the Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop, Tucson, Ariz., January 15, 2021.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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John Abbott of Benkins Moving Systems has to go high to help bring a tall stack of Thin Mints down to size at the Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop, Tucson, Ariz., January 15, 2021.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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Several hands pitch in to help load a trailer with hundreds of cases of cookies at the Girls Scouts of Southern Arizona Cookie Drop, Tucson, Ariz., January 15, 2021.
Girl Scout Cookie Drop
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Yvette-Marie Margaillan tries for the perfect fit in loading 274 cases of cookies on a trailer for Troop #161 at the Cookie Drop for the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, January 15, 2021, Tucson, Ariz.
