MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- Iwakuni Girl Scouts gathered at Crossroads Mall for the 2007 Cookie Kickoff, opening ceremony for Girl Scout cookie sales as part of a fundraiser for the local Scouting Program, Saturday.
The ceremony kicked off with Col. Michael A. Dyer, station commanding officer and Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies, native, buying 12 boxes of cookies from Brianna I. Luna, 7, Troop 117 Girl Scout and El Paso, Texas, native.
“Last year he bought one or two boxes,” said Rachel A. Rauenhorst, 14, Troop 30 Girl Scout and Iwakuni, Japan, native. “This year we were like ‘Wow! He must have developed a sweet tooth.’”
Dyer’s contribution to the scout’s cookie sales showed his support for something he believes is a good way to develop a child’s character.
“I like scouting,” said Dyer. “I think since it starts at a young age, it is the first part of building a child’s character. Character building is the most essential part in building relationships and any activity that is supportive of scouting, I am supportive of.”
The scouts sell the cookies as part of a long-standing tradition, and also to raise money to pay for activities and field trips. Each troop aboard the Station gets a percentage of the money from each box of cookies sold, said Tara L. Rauenhorst, Iwakuni Girl Scout Program overseas committee chairperson.
The Girl Scouts sell cookies once every year. They begin in January and end on the last Saturday of February, said Rauenhorst.
For 90 years, Girl Scouts, with support from their families and communities, have sold cookies to help develop valuable life skills and raise money for local Girl Scout chapters, according to www.girlscouts.org.
Selling cookies helps teach the girls a variety of skills, said Rauenhorst. They learn about goal setting, budgeting, decision making and planning when deciding what trips to go on and what badges they are going to use their money for.
“Ten to 15 percent of our sales this past weekend were for donations to buy cookies for the troops in Iraq,” she added.
With the first weekend of sales at 1,500 boxes sold, the Girl Scouts are well on their way to earning enough money for their events as well as enough cookies for the troops.
“This year’s Cookie Kick Off was very successful,” said Rauenhorst. “We had perfect weather and lots of support from the community. We sold roughly one-third of our total cookies.”
The Girl Scouts sell cookies on Fridays from 4 to 7 p.m. in front of Torii Video and Saturdays in front of the Commissary, Crossroads Mall, Exchange, and Seven-day Store from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cookies sell for $3.50 a box.