Girl Scouts Need Your Help

By Amy Lester, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- It's the official end of the Girl Scout cookie sale, but there are thousands of cookie boxes left unsold.

"We had lots of fun," Brownie Troop Leader Sidney Barton said. "All the girls sold and we did really well."

Four thousand cases, 480,000 boxes of cookies are left unsold.

"It makes me a little nervous that we still have so many," said Jaci Standridge, of the Girls Scouts of Western Oklahoma.

The Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma blame the economy and unwarranted fears from the peanut butter salmonella scare for the sales slump.

"I think it's just harder for people to find extra money for the little things they enjoy," Standridge said.

The scouts are now calling on the community to donate the remaining cookies to the Troops for Troops program.

"We want to make sure all of them are remembered and cared for," said Blue Star mom Cindy Hood.

A case of cookies for the troops costs $42 and will be shipped overseas by the Blue Star moms.

"It's like Christmas for them whenever they get a box of anything," Hood said. "But Girl Scout cookies are an American tradition and they really look forward to getting those."

Donated boxes for the troops are starting to trickle in, but there's a long way to go. It'll cost a total of $168,000 to purchase the rest.

"A lot of cookies, but I have no doubt we can get them out to the soldiers," Standridge said.

The girl scouts will keep selling until the 4,000 cases are gone.

If you want to make a donation, call the Girl Scouts at 1-800-698-0022 or visit the Girls Scouts Web site.