Girl Scout Cookies for PC ROTC Grads

At the start of the semester Carissa Carey ’10 kicked off a fundraiser for the Providence College Alumni currently completing their service in the United States Army. Carey is currently partnered with Girl Scout Troop 63 of Providence, her charity, to donate Girl Scout cookies to the PC ROTC graduates.
Since Jan. 18, Carey has been collecting donations and asking for people to order cookies for the eight men and women serving. She plans to continue doing so until Feb 28.  While Carey hopes her fundraiser will motivate the PC community to support her fellow Friars, her inspiration hits much closer to home. 
“With my younger brother preparing to deploy to Afghanistan this summer and my cousin in the Special Forces, I felt like I wanted to do something for our troops, but I thought it was important to do something for PC too,” said Carey. “When my cousin was in Iraq his sister started a Girl Scout cookie fundraiser in Atlanta, and I thought I would give it a try here.”
As of now, about $300 has been raised. The Girl Scout Troop collections is supported at PC sporting events as well as by the continuous support of the ROTC program. SAIL is also planning to contribute by collecting donations at ‘Things for Thursday’ and in the SAIL Office. In addition, several resident assistants will be collecting donations for the fundraiser as service programs in their dorms.
“Going into this on my own I knew it was going to be a big job, so getting the positive reaction that I did from the Girl Scouts, ROTC, SAIL, and Residence Life was awesome,” said Carey. “The fact that everyone was so willing to help and be behind this means a lot and I’m really thankful for all their support.”
Campus Ministry’s Children’s Outreach is sponsoring the fundraiser. Carey plans to purchase the cookies at the end of the month and ship them to Iraq, Germany, and Cuba, where eight PC alumni are currently serving.
“I want to make sure that I can send over a big box of all different cookies for our alum[ni] to enjoy and also share with the rest of their platoons,” said Carey.
An elementary/special education major, Carey is currently student teaching at Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School in Pawtucket, R.I. She is conducting a letter-writing unit with her second graders and plans on having them write letters to the PC alumni overseas to go along with the cookies. Carey hopes to continue with her fundraising efforts to support the troops after she graduates from the College and begins her career as an educator.
“I would like to do something like this wherever I start my career,” said Carey. “I want to incorporate the letter writing to soldiers in all my classrooms and remain connected with the Army in some way. All the people I know who have served or are serving love to hear from home and this is why it’s important for us to show them we care.”
Carey feels strongly that the PC alumni serving our country know that Providence College supports them. Donating Girl Scout Cookies is one way the community can show appreciation.
“As young adults we are very aware of the war going on and of the men and women serving,” said Carey.  “As these Friars graduate and go on to serve our country it’s important that the PC community remain connected with them and pray for their safe return.”