Girl Scouts Get Police Back Up

Wendover Girl Scouts got some heavy duty back-up in their cookie drive this year in the person of West Wendover Police Officer David Avilez.

Officer Avilez and the girls spent several hours in Smith’s Grocery store last week peddling their delicious wares.

Avilez said that it was awesome to see the girls shy selling at first but then come out of their shells by the end. “I thoroughly enjoyed getting to spend time with the girls and helping them laugh and have a good time while they did some real good Girl Scout work.”

Troop leaders and cookie sales facilitators Lucia Wilkerson and Lupita Landeros said that they love to see the girls build self-confidence while having fun doing it.

Girl Scouts and Brownies have been selling cookies since 1917 to raise funds. Girls who participate can earn prizes for their efforts. There are also unit incentives if the unit as a whole does well. As of 2007, sales were estimated at about 200 million boxes per year.

Girl Scouts sell cookies to relatives, friends, neighbors, and others in their town or city. In recent years, because of safety concerns, an increased emphasis has been placed on cookie booths, where girls sell from tables in public areas under the supervision of adult troop leaders, rather than door-to-door. Many councils offer the option for customers to sponsor boxes of cookies to be sent to U.S. servicemen and women.