Friday, February 8, 2013

Mint Operation: Local Girl Makes The New York Times for Cookies Sales

Posted By on Fri, Feb 8, 2013 at 7:00 PM

Enviously industrious, 10-year old Mary Ruiz of Tucson debuted on the front page of the New York Times today, in a sweet little profile of her dogged work as one of the Girl Scouts' top national cookie sellers. Yep, she's probably guilty of prodding us to put on a bit of unneeded girth. But this is one determined scout. (Full disclosure: she's a student in my wife's 5th grade class in TUSD.)

"Last year, her customers bought 5,007 boxes of cookies," writes Ron Lieber of the Times. "While the national organization does not collect individual rankings, it’s doubtful that more than a tiny handful of girls outsold her."

And this is work for good: "She pulls an oversize wagon stuffed with meticulously organized boxes and nestles an American flag in between," Lieber continues. "A sign explains what’s known in the Girl Scout world as her 'gift of caring.' For her, it’s an effort to persuade customers to donate change from their purchase toward more cookies or to buy extra boxes outright for soldiers abroad and firefighters and police officers nearby. This can work more than half the time, particularly when customers are already expecting just a small amount of change from a $20 bill. Last year, she delivered 504 boxes to local police officers and arranged donations of 192 boxes to soldiers."

For more, read the full profile at nytimes.com. Now if you'll excuse me, there's a Samoa with my name on it.

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