What can a cookie do? Give someone a happy birthday

Last year, my 7-year-old planned a surprise birthday party for me because she learned that I had never had one.

She secretly plotted with her aunt who helped her shop for decorations and food. And she got her father to rent a social hall and invite my friends. She wanted to make me feel special on my birthday.



This year, my little Girl Scout is working to make a lot more people in our community feel loved on their birthdays. She had the means to throw me a party with all the trimmings -- cake, ice cream, balloons, matching plates and cups, banners and streamers, veggie and fruit trays, games with prizes.

She realizes that not every mom and dad can give their children the kinds of parties she has or the party she gave me. We have talked to her about how our local food pantry gives groceries to the needy.

Her Girl Scout troop's service project is to donate a birthday-party-in-a-box to the local food pantry. We are going to include all the elements of a birthday party -- cake mix, frosting, candles, decorations and games, a gift card for ice cream -- things that people with no money for food would like to give their children but can't -- in boxes we wrap and donate to the town food pantry. Then when volunteers hear of someone with a birthday, they can give them the box.

She is living the Girl Scout Law in part by doing her best to be considerate and caring.

So I want to help her all I can. She has a personal goal to sell 1,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to earn a Kindle. The troop's goal is 2,500 boxes to pay their way to Washington, D.C., for the Girl Scouts Rock the Mall singalong in celebration of Girl Scouting's 100th birthday.

Girl Scout cookies cost $3.50 a box in our council this year. The top-selling Thin Mints, Samoas (coconut-caramel-chocolate) and Tagalongs (chocolate-peanut butter) are back along with Do Si Dos (peanut butter sandwich), Trefoils (shortbread), Dulce de Leche (caramel chip), and Thank U Berry Munch (cranberry-white chip that tastes like Cap'n Crunchberries cereal.) The new cookie this year is a crisp zesty lemon half-moon covered in powdered sugar called Savannah Smiles in honor of Girl Scouts being founded 100 years ago in Savannah, Georgia, by Juliette Gordon Low.

If you would like to help my thoughtful daughter meet her goals by buying cookies, please contact me at iritnus@gmail.com. You can specify that your order be donated to the food pantry or to American soldiers stationed elsewhere.