Once again, the citizens of Auburn have stepped up to help the Girl Scouts show our military how much we care for them. Auburn Girl Scout troops surpassed last year’s total and sold nearly 4,000 boxes of cookies to be donated to our U.S. soldiers stationed around the globe.

In addition to giving soldiers a small reminder of home while they are deployed in other countries, your donations are a true gift of caring to them.

A soldier approached an Auburn Scout this year at a sales booth, and told her how he received a box of thin mints last year while in Iraq. He said the chocolate was melted due to the heat, but he put them in a cooler and then he ate them like a giant candy bar. It was the best thing he’d ever had, he told them as he put $20 in the collection jar for other soldiers. They are reminded that we support them and pray for their safety, which boosts their morale so much.

In order to provide Auburn with more comments from our soldiers, we have included an e-mail address with the cookie donations. We hope to submit these letters to the Auburn Reporter, and we also will have them on display at next year’s cookie sale sites.

Thank you, Auburn, for your generosity supporting Operation Cookie Drop and our local Girl Scouts. You have provided a positive experience once again for our girls, which may be one reason why we have a record number of teenage girls in Auburn Girl Scouts this year.

Mary Wilson,

Auburn service unit cookie manager