Warminster Girl Scout Sells 1,000 Boxes of Cookies

Apparently, the secret to girl scout cookie sales is the same as real estate: Location, location, location. Willow Dale second grader Lauren Hoffman planted her flag at in Warminster, and before she knew it, she was on her way to selling 1,000 boxes of cookies.

"The cookie leaders for each troop provide a schedule of businesses that we can set up booths," said Lauren's mom, Juliette Punchello. "If we use one of those locations, we have to split the sales with whomever we share the booth. We've been to SMG a few times for Lauren's indoor soccer practice and noticed the amount of people there, so we decided to make it our turf."

By reaching the 1,000 box milestone, Lauren has earned a trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in the national Girl Scouts Rock the Mall 100th Anniversary Sing-Along on June 9.

The cookie campaign started out with six-hour weekend shifts, with Lauren joined by either her mother or father, Bob Hoffman, and little brother, Nicholas. During the last few weeks, some time was made on the weekdays after homework and other obligations were completed.

A combination of clever posters that kept a running tally of her 1,000 box goal and some good, old-fashioned carnival barking kept the product moving off the table.

"Girl scout cookies for sale!" Lauren demonstrates in the living room of her Warminster home. She also participated in booth sales at and .

Their efforts were also helped by the fact that they were selling treats with names like Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties. Each year, more than 200 million boxes of girl scout cookie are sold nationwide. Seventy percent of sales benefit the local girl scout council, with the remainder going to the bakers.

Lauren graduated this year to a Brownie with Girl Scout Troop no. 21295, meaning this is also the first year she had to sell cookies. Her parents chalked up the rookie sensation to Lauren's determined and outgoing personality.

"She was definitely the one who drove the sales," said Punchello, who coaches with her husband Lauren's basketball, soccer and softball teams. "Every weekend, she was pushing us out the door to go sell the cookies."