cookies are in

[Rock'n Robin]

As the cookie mom, I picked up our 115 cases of cookies today. I have now sorted them for the 7 girls in the troop. I also now have DD#2 hitting up our immediate neighbors hoping to start collecting $.
I have 88 boxes for "gift of caring" and no one has given me any instructions about where they are to go. I know if we have to ship them somewhere, our profit will go down substantially. I hope there is a drop off point somewhere.
I also have to go to the council "cookie pantry" to get the 21 boxes for the mom who turned in her order one day late. I wish I could charge her a service fee; it's 10 miles each way, which in my SUV is over a gallon of gas. She's so ditzy I don't expect her to turn her $ in on time without a good deal of nagging.
Oh well, off to eat some samoas!
Robin M
***edited to add....next time I make that big a typo (until now this said cokkies are in) someone tell me!!!

 

[clh2]

I think with the gift of caring boxes, your troop needs to pick a charity to donate them too. Is there a local food pantry nearby? The worst part about that is you will need to get some sort of documentation from that organization that you've donated the cookies to, that you've in fact made the donation. Our counsel is VERY particular about that sort of paperwork.

Now for my "gift of caring" soapbox: For all the times I've been cookie mom, (this is my 4th time as cookie mom) I've never bought into the gift of caring concept. For me it wasn't even an option. If someone wanted to donate $3.50 (i.e the price of a box of cookies in my area) to a food pantry, it could by some real food with nutritional value to it. The cookies are just expensive junk food in my opinion. The $3.50 would buy 5 or 6 cans of tuna fish, each could be the start of a meal for a family. I could go on and on here on the Gift of Caring, but won't.

But back to the cookies, this year our troop is small and we are at about 260 boxes for the whole troop (that's boxes, not cases) so it'll be a breeze compared to when the troop was bigger, and we did 1500 boxes!

Now with your cookie pantry situation - can you have that mom accompany you to the cookie pantry location? Ya - it is inconvenient for her, she can drive, and she can waste the gas. Also, (no flames here - I know it isn't allowed to request the money from someone in advance with cookies) try to get the mom to write you out a check for her daughter's cookies. Then you won't have to collect it later.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

That's a good idea...she's a banker and she has it, but I'm sure she works during pantry hours. As it is, I am going Tuesday because I am going to a teaching workshop that ends at 2:30, so I will be able to go get the pantry cookies and still pick the kids up from school.
I don't much care for the "gift of caring" option either. Our council says that these are going to the troops, but when I brought up that we shouldn't send chocolate cookies (it's hot over there, duh) she said of course we can't specify what we send. If we are indeed responsible I have 88 boxes of cookeis to ship to the troops, and don't even have an address. I will probably contact a local "mom's house" type of shelter if that is the case and take them there instead--or maybe Ronald McDonald house.
Robin M.

 

[lilouisianagal]

That's a good idea...she's a banker and she has it, but I'm sure she works during pantry hours. As it is, I am going Tuesday because I am going to a teaching workshop that ends at 2:30, so I will be able to go get the pantry cookies and still pick the kids up from school.
I don't much care for the "gift of caring" option either. Our council says that these are going to the troops, but when I brought up that we shouldn't send chocolate cookies (it's hot over there, duh) she said of course we can't specify what we send. If we are indeed responsible I have 88 boxes of cookeis to ship to the troops, and don't even have an address. I will probably contact a local "mom's house" type of shelter if that is the case and take them there instead--or maybe Ronald McDonald house.
Robin M.

If you want I can get you the address for troops in Iraq. My friend just shipped out to join a company that has been stationed over there. It would definitely give them a taste of good ole Americana if you can ship them.

 

[agnes!]

I feel your pain, I was a Junior Troop Leader last year & my DD was in Girl Scouts for 5 years.

I think the whole Gift of Caring concept is kind of odd as well.
A couple of ideas...
Is there a USO near your that you could perhaps donate the boxes to? If you have a base anywhere near you, perhaps you could call them up and ask someone there if there's anyplace on base you could donate the cookies to. I think that there are reception areas at some airport for soldiers when they ship out (remember reading about a group that runs something like this at BWI...)
Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to ship the cookies to "Any Soldier". The Armed Forces no longer accept packages labeled this way. Plus if there are cookies that might "melt"(like Samoas or Thin Mints), the cookies are unacceptable for shipping overseas.
Donate the cookies to a local food bank or homeless shelter. Even though they aren't nutritionally sound, everybody likes to have a treat now and then.
Make sure that wherever you donate them to that you get *some* kind of receipt - most Councils are hard-line about stuff like this.

Good luck. I think there's a special place in Heaven for cookie moms and all the volunteers who help make our world a better place.

agnes!