A Boy Scout troop dedicated to helping refugees and the homeless in New York has reportedly sold more than $1.6 million (about $2 million Canadian) worth of cookies since 2017, allowing hapless young girls to take part involved in various activities.
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“It’s daunting and scary enough as it is [de vivre dans un refuse]. “It was exciting to see the girls getting involved and laughing together in the same room,” said Giselle Burgess, who founded Troupe 6000 while living in a shelter with her five children, CNN reported on Tuesday.
Currently, the Boy Scout force would benefit more than 2,500 young girls and their mothers in 20 shelters in the New York metro area. It would also have inspired the opening of similar initiatives across the country.
Troupe 6000 has reportedly raised more than $1.6 million (about CA$2 million) since 2017 through sales of its cookies. The profits would be used to organize summer camps, trips and activities for its members living on the streets and in shelters of New York.
It also supports families in the transition to a home, according to American media.
The project has reportedly opened its arms to immigrants and asylum-seekers since January, more than 60,000 of whom have contacted the city’s homeless services department since last spring, it said.
“This group of young women have experienced incredibly traumatic events. And that is central to what we need to do. We need to take care of them and show them that they deserve that care,” Meridith Maskara, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York, told CNN.