[Nyclocal] Another Wasted Youth

[William Wharton]

What capitalism does to our young people...

The scariest line...

"The cookie program has helped push Jennifer out of
her shell"


Michigan Girl Scout sells 17,328 boxes of cookies

By MARGARET HARDING, Associated Press WriterWed May
14, 10:09 PM ET

A Girl Scout sold 17,328 boxes of the group's
signature cookies this year by setting up shop on a
street corner, shattering her troop's old mark and
probably setting a national record.

Jennifer Sharpe, a 15-year-old from Dearborn, plans to
travel to Europe with her troop with the proceeds from
her feat.

"It's always been one of those goals I wanted to
accomplish," Sharpe said Wednesday.

The two bakeries that make the cookies said Sharpe
sold more than anyone this year, according to Dianne
Thomas, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Metro
Detroit.

Michelle Tompkins, spokeswoman for the New York-based
national organization, called the figure "amazing" but
said there's no national record on the books.

"We're thrilled for the girls who take it to such a
great level, but so far, we don't track it at the
national level," she said.

Sharpe sold cookies every day on a street corner with
help from her mother and troop leader, Pam Sharpe.

"We were always there; we never closed," Pam Sharpe
said. "At one point, Jenny got really sick and we did
shut down early, and we heard about it the next day."

Jennifer Sharpe's Troop 813 raised about $21,000 in
cookie sales, paying for its 10-day trip to Europe
this winter. Troops get only part of the proceeds from
their members' sales.

The cookie program has helped push Jennifer out of her
shell, Pam Sharpe said.

"It's made her really confident," she said. "I
remember when she first started selling, she was very
shy and quiet and you had to push her out to talk to
customers, but now she's right out there, first to the
door."

One thing that hasn't changed, despite selling
thousands of boxes for the past few years, is Jennifer
Sharpe's feelings about the cookies.

"I love them," she said.