TOMS RIVER – You’ve see them in front of supermarkets, smiling ear to ear, with those colorful boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas and Tagalongs piled high, and couldn’t help but stop and shell out $4 for a box – or two, or three – of deliciousness.
This year, the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore’s highest cookie seller was 12-year-old Victoria Edelman, a sixth grader at Toms River Intermediate East who sold a whopping 3,044 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.
Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore is comprised of over 10,000 girls that live from Matawan to Tuckerton. Although the second place cookie seller from Toms River, 12th grader Christine Apostolico, came in only ten boxes shy of Victoria, no other girl in town broke 1,000.
Victoria has been slowly gearing up for this year’s $3K sale. In 2013 she sold just over 1,000 boxes. In 2014 and 2015 she sold over 2,000, and in 2016, another 1,500.
Of course, there are prizes involved with higher sales, but Victoria also went above and beyond to give back to those in need, especially when it comes to our troops overseas. She spent time handwriting a personal message on 206 boxes to be sent to our U.S. Military, and also bought toothpaste and deodorant to be included along with the cookies.
Victoria, who is currently a Cadet working on her Silver Award this year, said the biggest reason why people don’t buy Girl Scout cookies is because “they were never asked.” According to her mother, Tara Edelman, selling cookies became a family affair, where even her brother pitched in. Victoria even painted her mom’s gold car in fluorescent colors advertising “Girl Scout Cookies” and drove around Toms River looking for customers.
She can now use 73 cents per box to fund summer camp, administrative fees and a canoe team called the Jersey River Runners. The team has two upcoming races, including the 45th Annual Toms River Paddle Race in August.
Victoria has sold a total of 11,915 boxes of cookies in her Girl Scout career so far, and has about five years to go. Let’s see what next year brings.
