Man buys cookies, has girl scouts give them to charities

Two area Girl Scouts recently learned that one good deed truly deserves another.

Rich Grimley of Naperville purchased about 150 boxes of cookies from Maggie O'Brien, 10, and Kate Bassett, 13, but not even a chocolate-coated Thin Mint could tempt him to keep any for himself.

Instead, Grimley asked the girls to give every box to the charities of their choice.

"I think he wanted me to get into donating things to other people who need them," said Maggie, who is in Troop 1070.

She chose the Public Action to Deliver Shelter, or PADS, and St. Patrick's Residence, while Kate, from Troop 1838, donated her cookies to Little Friends, Inc.

But the Girl Scouts had to earn their sales to Grimley, who asked them each to do a little research first. In past years he has asked Kate the exchange rates of numerous South American countries and the name of the founder of Little Friends. The two are currently debating the answer to this year's question -- what is the largest man-made lake in the world and who built it?

Meanwhile, Grimley asked Maggie for a report on the gross national product of Guatemala.

Before she could even respond, her family found a check taped to their car window one morning with a note asking her to choose an organization to receive the cookies.

Maggie said she was surprised to see the check but excited that Grimley chose to buy so many boxes from her.

Kate's mother, Kelly Duffy-Bassett, said Grimley and her daughter both enjoy the interaction each year and the girls are learning business skills in addition to helping others.

"It gives them a way to sell so people can see a benefit from it rather than just the gluttony of selling cookies," she said.

Diane Grimley said her husband has been buying and donating Girl Scout cookies for about five years. She recently took some of the boxes herself to PADS where children eagerly greeted her.

"Their eyes just lit up when I brought the cookies in," she said. "It just gave you the goosebumps."