Unable to hold cookie booths due to coronavirus, a local Girl Scout troop has shifted its focus to collecting donations so that it can provide Girl Scout Cookies to health care workers.

Meranda Hess, troop leader of Tamaqua Troop 33013, said that her troop got their cookies on March 11, but on March 13, Gov. Tom Wolf announced schools would be closed at that time for two weeks, and their council followed suit.

“We had one cookie booth that first weekend; everything scheduled after that had to be canceled,” Hess said. “We had like 10 cookie booths that we had to cancel.”

Ever since, Hess said the troop has been “trying to be creative.”

“One way that some troops are still kind of selling cookies is collecting donations and giving them to health care workers, nursing home staffs, grocery stores,” she said. “We’ve already done that on a smaller scale, so we have already donated some cookies to St. Luke’s ER in Coaldale, Maple Shade Meadows in Nesquehoning, and one of our girls donated to Boyer’s in Tamaqua.”

Hess noted that the troop’s council has extended its cookie sales into May, “but we’re not sure when we’re going to go back up with cookie sales or booths, or door-to-door to collect donations so that we can give cookies to the people.”

“It’s trying to get out there and brighten someone’s day without having to have contact with people,” she said.

Hess said it’s been an adjustment for the troop, but she believes they’ve handled it well.

“The girls were definitely disappointed, but I think they’re adjusting,” she said. “We’re trying to do some things to make it fun for them.”

Hess noted that they’ve set up a site to collect donations at troop33013.square.site.

“We’re trying to use resources wisely,” she said. “And use the resources as we’ve always done.”

Hess added that this year only, due to COVID-19, Girl Scouts can partner with local businesses to do an “unmanned booth,” which is basically setting up cookies to sell at a business with no Girl Scouts present,

“The business collects payment and turns it over to the troop,” she said. “Any businesses interested in helping troops out this way can contact a Girl Scout in their area for more information.”