St. Sym’s Girl Scouts Sell Cookies to Neighbors Hungry to Help Estelle
Opinion
By Tim Hadac
Southwest Chicago Post
When people smile and describe Southwest Side neighborhoods as small towns in a big city, they may be thinking about a sweet little girl named Estelle.
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| Estelle at a GS cookie sale. |
Six-year-old Estelle is a student at Dore Elementary School. She is one of just six girls in Daisy Troop 25597, a new Girl Scout troop in Clearing, where Estelle lives with her mom and dad, Bettie and Steven. The troop is led by Bettie, along with Melinda Tomasewski, mother of Estelle’s friend, Penny.
Daises are the youngest of all Girl Scouts—so Estelle and the others were excitedly looking forward to selling Girl Scout cookies for the first time through their new troop.
They were hoping to sell hundreds of boxes of Thin Mints, Samoas, Do-si-dos, Trefoils and other varieties (including Estelle’s favorite, Lemon-Ups), which would entitle them to a take trip on a lakefront boat cruise this summer.
But for a tiny troop of Daisies, selling hundreds of boxes of cookies was a tall order, if not an impossibility.
That is, until their big sisters stepped up and stepped in.
Girl Scout Troop 26186, based out of St. Symphorosa School, is almost nine times larger than Daisy Troop 25597. The St. Sym’s unit includes girls from kindergarten through freshman year of high school. It’s a strong, active troop with good adult leadership.
Here’s where the Clearing neighborhood showed its small-town character.
When the St. Sym’s troop and its leaders heard that Estelle has been fighting Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia since last November, they swung into action, no questions asked.
They decided they’d donate 100% of the credit from their Sunday, March 1 cookie sale (held outside Fair Share Finer Foods, 63rd and Narragansett) to Estelle and Daisy Troop 25597.
They predicted they’d sell a couple hundred boxes, which could be added to Estelle’s total—hopefully bringing her close to the 500-box sales goal she’d need to hit to earn a Cookie Cruise ticket.
Turns out the St. Sym’s girls were a bit modest in their prediction. Business was brisk, with men, women and children (including firefighters from the CFD house at 56th and Narragansett) hungry to help.
By afternoon’s end, they sold 596 boxes—far more than what Estelle needs. The remainder will be credited to Daisy Troop 25597 in the hope that at least one other girl can enjoy the Cookie Cruise with Estelle.
“[Selling Girl Scout cookies on behalf of Estelle] was an easy decision,” GS Troop 26186 leader Karen Kielbasa says. “This was a good thing for our girls to do, to live the Girl Scout Law.
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| Daisy Scouts Sofia, Estelle and Penny |
“Our troop has been so lucky to have the support of this neighborhood in recent years,” she adds. “It’s a privilege for us to support others in need.”
Those who missed the March 1 sale at Fair Share, but who still want to buy Girl Scout cookies to help Estelle and her troop are advised to click this link and order/pay online: https://digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/troop25597c430?fpkp=1.
The good deed the St. Sym’s Girl Scouts have done is part of a larger and “awesome” amount of support the community has shown for Estelle, Bettie says—everyone from family, friends, neighbors and the staff at Lurie Children’s Hospital, as well as Estelle’s classmates and teachers—one of whom, Samantha Villa, even shaved her head as Estelle’s was, in a touching show of solidarity and love.
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| Estelle and teacher Samantha Villa. |
“We continue to ask for prayers and all the love and healing vibes from everyone, it’s working!” Bettie wrote in a recent Facebook post. “We are so thankful for all the love and support so many shower on us all, especially Estelle.”
Folks who may not want to buy cookies but who want to help Bettie and Steven with the inevitable mountain of medical bills are advised to click this GoFundMe link: https://gofund.me/ec3da702d.
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| Estelle and her mom, Bettie. |
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