Girl Scout cookies sale deadline nearing

VW independent/submitted information

The deadline for purchasing Girl Scout cookies is coming soon. As of Sunday, March 27, the 2016 Girl Scout Cookie Program will end. Satisfy that cookie craving (and support local Girl Scouts) by purchasing cookies before then. These tasty morsels won’t be available again until January 2017.

Through Sunday evening, find one’s favorite Girl Scout cookies for sale at local businesses throughout the Lima area. Visit girlscoutcookies.org to find a booth sale in the community, or download the Girl Scout Cookie Locator App for Apple or Android devices to search for booths.

Cookies are just $4 per package, and all girls take cash or check payment, while some also accept credit cards.

The Girl Scouts have a couple of promotions available for purchasing cookies, including the following:

5 for 5 Promotion — Purchase five boxes of cookies and receive a coupon to participate in a contest to win five free cases of Girl Scout Cookies. Entries must be submitted online no later than 5 p.m. Monday, April 4, with winners announced on Wednesday, April 6.

Operation Cookie — Have food allergies, counting calories, or not a cookie eater? Consider donating boxes to Operation Cookie. You’ll double your giving efforts by supporting Girl Scouts, who keep their earnings, and by sending a taste of home to military personnel serving overseas.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is the largest girl-run business in the world. Girls learn skills such as goal setting, decisionmaking, money management, people skills, and business ethics. They work together with their fellow troop members to decide how to use the funds they raise, including once-in-a-lifetime travel, buying supplies for service projects, attending summer camp, and much more.

When area residents buy a package of Girl Scouts Cookies, they are making an investment in the future of the community. One hundred percent of the money raised through the Girl Scout Cookie program (every penny after paying the baker) stays right here in Ohio and is used for volunteer and girl support, troops and rewards, council-sponsored events for the girls, financial assistance, camp programming and facilities, Girl Scout awards programs (Gold, Silver, Bronze), and member support.