Girl Scouts donate more than a million cookies to troops

About 35 Girl Scouts and a few local officials and National Guard members formed a brigade in Garden City Thursday morning to load boxes of cookies onto a delivery truck bound for JFK Airport.

The cases of Savannah Smiles, Samoas, Do-Si-Dos and other Girl Scout treats were going to be added to the thousands already packed into a plane headed to the Middle East, where the cookies will be distributed to U.S. troops as part of a project called Operation Cookie.

For the ninth-straight year, the Girl Scouts of Nassau County partnered with the delivery company DHL to deliver the cookies, which this year totaled 1.25 million.

While out selling cookies in recent months, the scouts gave customers the option to purchase boxes for the troops, said Katelyn Stealey, 10, of Massapequa, who was able to secure 101 donated boxes for the soldiers.

“These soldiers have been through a lot, they work hard for us and they miss home," Katelyn said. "It's good for us to bring them a taste of home.”

Joe Lotz, director of DHL Express JFK Gateway, said the cookies will arrive in Bahrain on Saturday and will be distributed throughout the military’s network.

“Even the worst areas will get cookies,” he said, adding that DHL is covering the shipping costs.

While helping the girls load the boxes, Sgt. Percival Luke, who served two tours of duty in Iraq, said he always appreciated getting care packages while overseas.

“It’s just nice to know the people back home are thinking of you.”