198,470 boxes donated!

Lili Cervantes and Ava Chavarria were among top Girl Scout cookie sellers honored at the 13th annual Operation Thin Mint Sendoff celebration aboard the USS Midway Museum. By selling more than 2,014 boxes in 2014 — a goal achieved by only 31 Girl Scouts in the San Diego-Imperial region — they earned a helicopter ride and joined other VIPs on stage.

Earlier this year, Lili sold 2,283 boxes and Ava, 2,077. All cookie proceeds stay local to fund Girl Scouting activities.

San Diego Girl Scouts began Operation Thin Mint in 2002 to give deployed U.S. military troops “a taste of home and a note to show we care.” Since then, U.S. Navy, Marine, Army, Air Force and National Guard troops stationed in Africa, Iraq, Afghanistan, Japan and Korea, and aboard ships around the globe, have received nearly 2.5 million boxes of Girl Scout cookies (Thin Mints, plus all other seven varieties) and countless handwritten notes of support from San Diegans.

This was the 10th consecutive year USS Midway Museum hosted the sendoff, which is open to the public. More than 2,000 revelers gathered on the historic ship’s flight deck on May 3 — as Lili, Ava and other top cookie-sellers revealed that generous San Diegans are sending 198,470 boxes of Operation Thin Mint cookies to troops this year.