UPPER EAST SIDE — A local Girl Scout troop gave away all of its hard-earned cookie sale profit to the city's homeless veterans.
Girl Scout Troop 3484 sold more than 6,700 boxes of Thin Mints, Do-Si-Dos and other treats this cookie season, but didn't keep the profits for themselves. The girls donated 100 percent of their earnings — roughly $4,400 — to the Mayor's Office of Veterans' Services to help vets in need.
On Thursday, the girls, all 17 of whom attend the Dalton School on East 89th Street, visited City Hall to deliver a check and to meet the mayor.
"The mayor was very tall and very nice. I'm happy I got to meet him because my brother met him once and got a picture with him and now I can rub it in his face," said 9-year-old Katalin Mazansky. "He said he was very glad we decided to donate our profits and he said that he thought that small people can make a big difference."
The troop, which could have kept the money to use toward field trips or their own needs, has been donating its entire cookie profit to local organizations since the group formed three years ago.
The girls took to the Internet and streets over the winter and spring months and did a booth sale on the Upper West Side, near the film shooting of USA's "Mr. Robot." That day they sold 100 boxes to the cast and crew, according to troop leaders.
Mazansky sold 1,026 boxes of cookies this year and said she worked hard to get to her goal because she knew the veterans needed the help.
"They helped us by protecting our country and we thought we should help them back," she said.
The funds will go toward the city's effort to meet and maintain "Functional Zero," the national standard for ending veteran homelessness by rapidly re-housing those who enter the shelter system.
Under the program, more than 1,000 veterans were placed in permanent housing across the city in 2015, according to officials.
The troop also decided to launch project "Project Welcome Home" last week to collect donations of kitchen and household items and deliver them to veterans who have recently moved into their new homes.
"Being the kind of girls they are, they were heartbroken that even though veterans get housed, when they get to their new places they lack basic items like cleaning supplies and sheets, so they went forth and did something," troop leader Gina Sohn said.
So far, the girls have gotten Bodum, Bed, Bath & Beyond, OXO and the Girl Scouts Council to donate pots and pans and scrub brushes but still need towels, sheets and utensils, said Bridget Small, another troop leader.
"We wrote letters and asked them all for donations and so far they've all said 'Yes,' but I think it's easier than we thought," said Small's daughter, Stori Small.
Anyone who is interested in donating can do so online or by emailing the Department of Veterans Services at nbranca@cityhall.nyc.gov.
