After a unique donation for his staff and clients, the Union Rescue Mission’s CEO Doug Nolte knows the good vibes that can come from cookies.
"Girl Scout Troop 40364 called us and wanted to give us some cookies because as COVID hit, they were unable to sell cookies easily and so they went through several organizations and we happened to be one of them.
"We are a service provider for people in need in our community. And we specialize in helping men who are homeless have a safe place to stay. And for those that really want to get out of the lifestyle of homelessness and substance abuse we have programs that help them get through that. They wanted to give something to our staff who are on the front lines as well as our guests…and who doesn’t love a good Girl Scout cookie?
"Several of the boxes had personal notes written to staff just encouraging them. My favorite is the peanut butter sandwiches — I’m, like, old school — where they’ve got the little diamond hole in the sandwich and you can see the peanut butter. I love those. Really, I have not met a Girl Scout cookie that I can’t eat. It was a pick-me-up not only for that day, but for the time we’re in. A reminder that we’ve got kids in this community that are compassionate and care.
"And this troop in particular is a pretty special troop because they’ve been together since the fourth grade, and they are seniors in high school. They are a mentoring group that wants to pass on to other Girl Scout troops what it means to be good citizens. We’re grateful that they thought of us."
