Mar 19, 2008 7:38 pm US/Eastern
Operation Cookie: N.J. Girl Scout Answers Call
Ships 14,000 Boxes Of Cookies To U.S. Soldiers In Iraq
MONTVILLE, N.J. (CBS) ―
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Claire Marinello, a 16-year-old Girl Scout from Montville, N.J., is responsible for more than 14,000 cookies being shipped to American troops in Iraq.
CBS
For our troops in Iraq, little touches of home can mean so much.
A teenager in New Jersey, a Girl Scout, is sending a sweet taste of the States to the troops through "Operation Cookie."
Claire Marinello of Montville is like many 16-year-olds. She's a junior in high school and in the local Girl Scout troop.
But she's going above and beyond the call of duty.
"Girl Scouts are an American tradition and Thin Mints are an American treat," Marinello said.
"Operation Cookie" was started by a scout troop a few years ago, with the goal of sending favorites like Thin Mints to the troops in Iraq. Last year, Marinello raised enough money to ship 3,000 boxes of cookies.
This year she decided to do even more.
"I thought that other girl scouts in Montville, there were 250 of them total, ages 6 to 18 they helped me when they were doing their own sales with their friends and neighbors. People that they knew to collect the money sold these cookies and that's how we got 14,088 boxes."
That's right, 14,088 boxes of cookies.
The cookies will start their long voyage to Iraq on Thursday, and are expected to arrive in about six weeks.
Call it a little comfort food for people who are over 7,000 miles away.
Claire's mother is very proud.
"(The soldiers) are in stressful situations but a cookie brings you back to being a kid, being safe, being happy," Sue Marinello said. "And I'm just very proud that she's out there helping them to feel that way."
Two defense contractors are shipping the cookies in containers that are climate-controlled so the cookies don't melt.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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