To the Editor:

On behalf of the nearly 30,000 Girl Scouts in Connecticut, I wanted to thank every one of you who supported our young female entrepreneurs participating in the 2018 Girl Scout Cookie Program. Because of your generosity and support, more than 2.1 million boxes of cookies were sold in Connecticut. In addition, Girl Scouts sold more than 100,000 boxes of cookies for our Gift of Caring program, Cookies for Heroes, which we will send to our service women and men at home and overseas as well as to local community heroes.

This year, girls across the state earned more than $1.9 million through their cookie sales, and they use their cookie proceeds for incredible things. From community service projects that directly impact your town to planning fun, educational experiences or helping support other girls be Girl Scouts, girls are leaders in their communities.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program prepares future entrepreneurs by providing them with technology they will use in the future. Through our Digital Cookie® platform, girls sold over 213,000 boxes to online customers. By creating their own profiles, girls can use social enterprise to run their businesses. This year, we saw a 47 percent increase of girls who sold cookies online and a 49 percent increase of the total number of boxes cookies sold through the Digital Cookie® platform.

It's also important to thank our 14,000 adult volunteers for their year-round commitment to our girls, including during the cookie program. We are grateful to each and every one of you who support our girls throughout the year in so many ways.

Thank you again for your generous support of Girl Scouts of Connecticut, as you are helping us build girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place.

With warm regards,

Mary Barneby, Girl Scouts of Connecticut, CEO

340 Washington Street, Hartford June 28, 2018