Hollister
– A local Girl Scout troop is sending a sweet reminder of home
to American troops in Iraq.
Hollister – A local Girl Scout troop is sending a sweet reminder of home to American troops in Iraq.
Troop 3406 of Hollister offered an alternative to local folks who wanted to support the Girl Scouts and their cookie drive, but who perhaps didn’t want to be tempted to eat all those Thin Mints and Samoas. About 80 boxes of cookies are being shipped for free to Hollister resident Rosina Saldana’s daughter and son-in-law, who are stationed at Camp Liberty in Baghdad.
“They really appreciate everything that everyone does,” Saldana said. “But to get something from people who have no idea who they are really means a lot.”
Saldana’s daughter, Melissa Amsden, grew up in Gilroy and is serving in Baghdad with her husband, Lance R. Amsden.
The idea started with Hollister Troop 3406 co-leader Jill Martin, said Pam Riordan, the troop’s other co-leader.
“She actually saw it on one of the talk shows,” Riordan.
Martin and her husband, Ron Martin, own PostNet, a Hollister shipping company. The Martins’ 9-year-old daughter, Mari, is a member of Troop 3406.
The Martins then approached Saldana with the idea, Ron Martin said. Saldana, a regular PostNet customer, agreed and Troop 3406 began its sales drive.
The troop sold about 80 boxes of cookies for the American soldiers.
“A lot of people really responded to it,” she said. “It just seemed like a perfect icon.”
Kylie DiSalvo, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at Ladd Lane Elementary, said she and her fellow Girl Scouts love selling the cookies each year. She said the scouts worked up a sales pitch for people who said they were not interested in eating the cookies.
“We said you can give it to the soldiers,” DiSalvo said. “We had a military box.”
The most popular cookies being sent to Baghdad are the Thin Mints and Samoas, Riordan said.
Ron Martin shipped the first batch of cookies two weeks ago, he said. The package, which contained about 40 boxes of Girl Scout cookies, weighed 30 pounds and cost $40 to ship to Baghdad, he said. Another 40-box package will be on its way in a few days.
Martin said the cookies should be well received.
“I think it’s great,” he said. “You’re bringing a little bit of home to the troops.”
Michael Van Cassell covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or
mv*********@fr***********.com
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