As 12-year-old Girl Scout Leah Howard of Farmington says, "When you buy Girl Scout cookies you help a girl start on the path of independence."
Howard and many of the 230 girls who make up Community 223 will be out and about all over Greater Rochester today selling cookies to celebrate National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend.
Colleen Howard of Farmington, volunteer support coordinator for Community 223, said they'll be set up at many local venues today, including at Wild Willy's Burgers on Columbus Avenue in Rochester, where folks can still get a box of their wildly famous Samoas, which are a caramel cookie with coconut.
"We still have some, but we are told we won't be able to get any more," Colleen Howard said on Thursday.
Community 223 comprises girls from Rochester, Farmington, Somersworth, Milton and Middleton, so expect to find some young entrepreneurs at venues all around.
Howard said the main goal of the annual cookie drive is to instill a sense of empowerment and drive.
"We have a lot of young girls with big plans," she said.
Among the plans the girls are looking to raise money for are trips to New York and Hawaii.
Meanwhile, customers who don't already know a Girl Scout now have the chance to purchase Girl Scout Cookies online for direct shipment to their door.
If you don't already know a Girl Scout, enter your zip code at www.girlscoutcookies.org to purchase cookies online or to find socially distant or contact-free cookie booths if they are available in your area. You can also text COOKIES to 59618* or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices.
Other local cookie buying sites today include:
Somersworth Irving at 425 Main St., Somersworth; 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Patriot Tractor at 375 NH 108, Somersworth, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
Rochester Walmart, Farmington Road, Rochester, till 8 p.m.
Tractor Supply, Farmington Road, Rochester, till 8 p.m.