Thin Mints Make Their Day in Life of a Soldier
Members of Ocean Township Brownie troop 1742 are (front row) Chelsea Caruso, Maggie McGrorry, Sabrina Noboa. Back row – left to right – Franciele DaCruz, Amanda Ianucilli, Lauren Brown, Alexis Klenk, Cassidy Snow, Julia Real, Olivia Schmidt. (Not pictured) Antonia Errico, Sarah Miller, Nicolette Sariotis, Ariel Zuckerman. The troop is co-led by Debi Ianucilli, Christine Caruso, and Sharon Real.
By ANDREW CANGIANO
Thank you for the cookies. Theres nothing like a couple of Thin Mints or Samoas to remind one of home, an army private stationed in Iraq wrote in a letter to the Ocean Township Brownie Troop 1742.
The troop, made up of third graders in Ocean Township schools, sent boxes of Girl Scout cookies and drawings to American soldiers stationed in Iraq.
During their cookie sale in January, the girls offered local residents the option of purchasing a box of cookies for the soldiers.
The response was tremendous, as the Brownies sold 131 boxes of cookies – over 10 percent of their total order – to be sent to the troops in Iraq.
In late February the cookies were delivered to Trish McGrorry, who separated the boxes meant for the soldiers from the rest of the boxes.
Along with the cookies, pictures drawn by the young Brownies were also sent to the soldiers.
Debi Ianucilli, co-leader of the Brownie troop, discussed how to send the cookies to the soldiers with her co-worker at the Wanamassa School, Janet Forino.
Mrs. Forinos husband, Joe, was able to have the cookies shipped through his work at Fort Monmouth to U.S. soldiers stationed in Baghdad, the Iraqi capital.
The cookies were delivered to Army personnel from the 4th Infantry Division, also known as the iron horse division, which was based out of Fort Bragg, Texas.
The response from the 4th Infantry Division was immediate, as the soldiers stationed in the Middle East were truly thankful for the support from back home.
In their letters back to the Brownies, the soldiers expressed their gratitude over and over again.
It means so much to know that theres people who care about what we do as soldiers, a staff sergeant named Anthony wrote in a letter to the Brownie troop.
I was worried that I was going to miss the cookie season this year, but through your kind act, you gave me a thin mint fix, a sergeant named Rob wrote.
I hope my little girl grows up to be as sweet and caring as all of you, an army specialist named Alyssa wrote.
Along with sending letters and photographs back to the girls, the soldiers also sent a certificate of appreciation signed by Major General James D. Thurman.
Ianucilli said she was surprised and happy about the response from the soldiers and the certificate the troop received.
She said the Brownies have learned something in their efforts to aid the soldiers.
It just kind of opened the girls eyes to thinking about other people, Ianucilli said.
The morale of the soldiers was boosted by the Brownies kind act, she said.
I really think its uplifting to them to know that the girls care and theyre still thinking about them, she said.
Her daughter Amanda, who is a member of the troop, agreed.
It felt really good to do something nice for the soldiers who are doing things for us, she said.
Brownie Cassidy Snow said it was nice to hear back from the soldiers.
Its nice to hear about other people and what they do everyday, Snow said.
On the troops Thursday meeting at Ocean Township Elementary School, the girls wrote back to the soldiers, as they drew pictures with little notes on them.
Sabrina Noboa said that being able to write back to the soldiers made them feel like pen pals and is something not everyone is able to do.
It feels nice because not a lot of people are doing this and the soldiers are happy because we wrote to them, Noboa said.
Julia Real, another member of Troop 1742, said she drew an American flag on her picture because the soldiers help our country.
Julias mother, Sharon Real, has been helping out with the troop, as co-leader Christine Caruso is expecting a child soon.
Troop 1742 is part of the Ocean/West Long Branch service unit of the Monmouth Council of Girl Scouts, located out of Farmingdale.
All of the girls attend the Ocean Township Elementary School or the Wayside Elementary School.
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Published every Thursday.
April 28th, 2006 at 9:52 pm
I was glad that my husband, Joe and I were able to make it easier to send the cookies directly to the soldiers of the 4th Infrantry Division…..however they are stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, not Bragg as stated in the article. all that matters is that the soldiers took the time to write back to the girls which meant so much to them.