Teen sells 17,328 boxes of Girl Scout cookies

updated 10:15 p.m. ET May 14, 2008

DETROIT - A Girl Scout has financed her trip to Europe with Thin Mints, Samoas and Do-Si-Dos, possibly breaking a national record in the process.

Jennifer Sharpe, a 15-year-old from Dearborn, sold 17,328 boxes of Girl Scout cookies this year, which shatters her troop's old record and is believed to be a national record, though Girl Scouts of the USA doesn't track individual sales.

"It's always been one of those goals I wanted to accomplish," Sharpe said Wednesday.

Michelle Tompkins, spokeswoman for New York-based Girl Scouts of the USA, called the feat "amazing" but said there's no national record on the books.

"We're thrilled for the girls who take it to such a great level, but so far, we don't track it at the national level," she said.

The two bakeries that make the cookies sold by Girl Scouts said Sharpe sold more than anyone this year, according to Dianne Thomas, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit.

"They are aware when a council has a super seller," Thomas said.

Every day on a street corner
Sharpe sold cookies every day on a street corner with help from her mother and troop leader, Pam Sharpe.

"We were always there, we never closed," Pam Sharpe said. "At one point, Jenny got really sick and we did shut down early, and we heard about it the next day."

Jennifer Sharpe's Troop 813 raised about $21,000 in cookie sales that will pay for its 10-day trip to Europe this winter.

It isn't the first time the troop has traveled using cookie money. A couple of years ago, the Scouts decided they wanted to take a Caribbean cruise.

"They sold enough to be able to swim with the dolphins," Thomas said. "So after that, what do you do? Well, they said, 'Let's go to Europe.'"

'Made her really confident'
In addition to vacation destinations, the cookie program also has helped push Jennifer out of her shell, Pam Sharpe said.

"It's made her really confident," she said. "I remember when she first started selling, she was very shy and quiet and you had to push her out to talk to customers, but now she's right out there, first to the door."

One thing that hasn't changed, despite selling thousands of boxes for the past few years, is Jennifer Sharpe's feelings about the cookies.

"I love them," she said.

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