(WXYZ) — Elizabeth Popovich, a sophomore at Dakota High School is kicking off her ninth year of "Cookies 4 Troops." The goal is to raise donations to send Girl Scout cookies to our military members overseas.
She started it when she was just 8 years old. She's now about to turn 16.
She still remembers her first encounter with members of our military who were on the receiving end of her efforts.
"They came up to me and said we just got back from our tour and we got your cookies. They were in tears at this point because they had just gotten back and they both donated $50 and said, 'Send some back to our boys,'" Elizabeth recalls.
Since she started "Cookies 4 Troops," Elizabeth has raised more than $135,000 for the program. That amounts to about 33,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies.
"It seems so little to us .. a box of Thin Mints, but to them I've heard it means everything. I've gotten responses, letters and pictures. It's really the only thing that keeps them going sometime when they're over there. Hearing that really motivates me to do it more because they do so much for us," says Elizabeth.
Elizabeth says this journey has taught her so much. She plans to study business and marketing in college. In the meantime, she's just as motivated as ever to get more cookies to our troops.
"It reminds them that people at home are still thinking about them. It just makes me work harder .. to do something so small that's so big for them."
If you'd like to donate, Elizabeth will be at Macomb Emagine on Saturday & Sunday, December 29 and 30 from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. It's located at 15251 23 Mile Road in Macomb Township.
You can also find out other ways to donated on Elizabeth's Facebook page: Cookies 4 Troops
