Girl Scouts donate cookies through Gift of Caring program
More than 70,000 packages distributed to grateful recipients
June 17, 2025
BEDFORD, NH – It may be a small treat, but the taste of home is special to a soldier stationed abroad. A package of cookies can be a heartwarming gift to a hardworking firefighter, policeman, teacher or health care worker. Through the Gift of Caring program, Girl Scouts are able to bring smiles to these hometown heroes and our service people.
This year, over 70,000 packages of Girl Scout Cookies were donated to these deserving people through Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the council serving New Hampshire and Vermont. Of those, more than 21,000 packages were bought by the public to donate through the Gift of Caring program, with over 49,000 packages donated by council. Food banks across the two states received truckloads of cookies – The NH Food Bank was fully stocked with 24,636 packages of cookies, the Nashua Soup Kitchen took 6,480 packages, End 68 Hours of Hunger got 360 packages, the Burlington Food Pantry in Vermont received 360 packages, plus Girl Scout troops donated uncounted more to various food shelves.
One batch of cookies made it all the way to Poland, where First Sergeant Vincenzo J. Volpe was stationed with a field artillery unit supporting NATO.
“We are a formation of approximately 70 soldiers, both men and women,” he wrote. “I am writing this email to extend a very much deserved thank you to your organization and its volunteers. I was given about 25 of your care packages from one of our counterparts within the unit. When I began to hand these out to the soldiers, they were immediately full of joy. I heard every soldier say something positive. Some examples are: ‘Oh sweet! Girl Scout Cookies!’ They have been away from their families for about five months at this point. The cards were also a hit. Many are already displayed in our living quarters. I have been deployed many times and watching the soldiers who this is their first time away from home smile means something to me. I want to extend my gratitude to all of you. You impacted many soldiers with your selfless acts and kindness, and it does not go unnoticed. On behalf of the soldiers of Axemen Battery, 4th Battalion, 1st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas, THANK YOU! You all are doing an outstanding job and are a blessing to our formation.”
Healing harvest at the Dartmouth Cancer Center sent this thank you: “Hundreds of patients have been thrilled to learn that we have Girl Scout Cookies on offer and many have reminisced about their wonderful childhood memories as a scout 50-70 years ago. Your generosity has brought joy and pleasure to our patients when they need it most, and I can’t thank you enough for this act of kindness!”
From the Nashua Soup Kitchen: “Thank you so much for choosing us for this donation. It feels like ‘cookies for life’ but our clients will be thrilled and they will go fast!”
From COTS in Vermont: “Thank you so much for your support!”
From Table of Plenty: “We are so grateful for the donation of cookies on behalf of Rose Kelly’s family. The guests at our meal were so excited to receive such a wonderful treat!”
From End 68 Hours of Hunger: “Thank you so much for reaching out and donating Girl Scout Cookies to End 68 Hours of Hunger. We have enough to add a box in each bag next week and as a treat, the last week of school. We also are sharing with another local chapter. I’m sure you’ll be making many local families very happy!”
Among the recipients of the council’s cookie donations were:
- New Hampshire Food Bank
- Vermont Air National Guard
- Pease Greeters, Portsmouth, NH
- 157th Air Refueling Wing, Portsmouth, NH
- End 68 Hours of Hunger
- Nashua Soup Kitchen, NH
- Operation Care for Troops
- COTS of Burlington, VT
- Josh’s House, VT
- VA Hospitals in Vermont and New Hampshire
- Red Cross in New Hampshire and Vermont
- New Hampshire Army National Guard units
- Dartmouth Cancer Center
- United Way of Nashua, NH
- Turning Points of Claremont, NH
- Windsor County Mentors, VT
- Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, NH
- Plymouth Library, NH
- Feed Our Children
- Circle Camp, Hebron, NH
- Harmony Homes, Portsmouth, NH
- Lamoille Community Food Share, VT
- St. Matthew’s Mission, Goffstown, NH
Also receiving cookie donations thanks to troops and council staff were numerous police and fire departments, health care facilities, schools, and other hometown heroes.
“By donating all these boxes of cookies, Girl Scouts learn the biggest essential skill of decision making to help people in need and thinking of others. Most of the time the biggest treats come in the smallest boxes,” said Rhonda Dorval, food services manager at the Nashua Soup Kitchen and Shelter.
These cookie donations do more than provide a sweet treat to our valued community members and military. The funds raised through the Girl Scout Cookie program pay for Girl Scout memberships, weeks of summer camp, community action projects, and more. One Girl Scout troop funded a weeklong trip to New Mexico, another an overnight at Battleship Cove. The cookie program teaches Girl Scouts vital life skills, money management, people skills, business ethics, and more.
“While Girl Scouts learn business basics and money management through the cookie program, they also develop good ethical business practices, nurturing the strength and growth of their community and beyond,” said Robin Boyd, manager of product sales for the council.
We Are Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts bring their dreams to life and work together to build a better world. Through programs from coast to coast, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges—whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends. Backed by trusted adult volunteers, mentors, and millions of alums, Girl Scouts lead the way as they find their voices and make changes that affect the issues most important to them. To join us, volunteer, reconnect, or donate, visit girlscouts.org.
Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains serves girls throughout New Hampshire and Vermont through volunteer-run troops, events, and virtual programs. Visit www.girlscoutsgwm.org to learn more.
Among those receiving Girl Scout Cookies as part of the council’s Gift of Caring program were U.S. soldiers stationed in Poland and heath care staff at Elliot Family Medicine in Hooksett, NH.
