Michigan Girl Scout sells 17,328 boxes of cookies

[May 15, 2008]  DETROIT (AP) -- 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.

[Associated Press; By MARGARET HARDING]

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