(l to r) Girl Scout Cadette Abigail Myers SAL 105 Adjutant Rusty Myers SAL 105 member Jake Myers (in Samoa cookie costume) SAL 105 Commander Steve Sangemino Girl Scout Junior Grace Myers SAL 105 1st Vice James Elsmore

 

American Legion 105 Family in NJ donates $1,000 of Girl Scout cookies to our troops and vets

Belleville, NJ

American Legion Post 105 and Sons of The American Legion (SAL) Squadron 105 made the day a little sweeter by making a combined $1,000 purchase of Girl Scout cookies, which will be sent to our servicemen deployed abroad and veterans at NJ’s VA hospitals. The hope is that each bite of a Samoa or Trefoil reminds the troops and vets of how much the Post 105 Family appreciates and values what they do and have done.

As they do every year, Girl Scouts around the country sell cookies as their biggest annual fundraiser. This is the case for Girl Scout Troops 20122 and 20462, both of Nutley, who have sold cookies for the past few years at Post 105. Troop 20122 makes its home at Post 105, meeting monthly at the post hall – something our Legion Family is very proud to support.

Since 2018, the Post 105 Family has annually voted on buying and donating cookies to send to those in uniform who can’t be home during ‘cookie season.' For the 2023 cookie sale, Post and Squadron 105 went big – bigger than they ever have.

“That’s what our money is there for – this is a great project to give to,” said Squadron 105 Commander Steve Sangemino at the meeting where the vote happened. “This [donation] should increase every year."

SAL 105 voted to top last year’s donation by increasing it to $250 of cookies sent via “Operation Jersey Cares” to troops overseas and $250 to the 2nd annual “Cookies for Vets” program to our veterans in VA hospitals. Post 105’s Legionnaires then matched both of those donations.

Through “Operation Jersey Cares,” skids of cookies from around the state are loaded onto planes and sent to troops around the world. In 2021, over 80,000 boxes were sent to the military.

The “Cookies for Vets” program is in its second year, run by the Children & Youth Commission at the SAL Detachment of NJ., where cookies are bought in January and are then donated to NJ’s two VA campuses at Lyons and East Orange. Last year Girl Scouts from both troops, as well as a young SAL from the Belleville squadron, delivered the cookies to both VA locations in April, which is National Children & Youth Month.

“This program is great – it’s what we should be doing”, said Essex County Adjutant Henry Deltosto at a meeting of the American Legion Essex County Committee, where they voted to donate to “Cookies for Vets” as well. “It hits two of the reasons why The American Legion is here – helping our veterans and supporting our kids.”


SAL 105 Commander Steve Sangemino puts in his order for his favorite cookies.


Legionnaire John Catanzaro buys his peanut butter cookies.

(l to r) Girl Scouts Abigail and Grace Myers of Nutley, N.J., sell their cookies at Post 105

Vice Commander Tim Byrne is excited to get his Thin Mints from Grace.

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