Concord troop was struck at West Lebanon Walmart, which donated $400 to the Girl Scout troop following the theft.
BEDFORD, NH – A Girl Scout troop selling cookies at the West Lebanon Walmart has lost about $1,000 after a man stole their cash box on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Police recovered the cash box, but there was no money inside.
According to a statement from the Lebanon Police Department, a white male wearing a white sweatshirt, blue jeans, black hat and a black mask grabbed the metal cash box and fled on foot toward the wooded area behind the plaza. Police and their K-9 team tracked the suspect to the rear parking lot of the New Hampshire State Liquor Store. Surveillance footage showed the man running across the lot then getting into a white Jeep Grand Cherokee with unknown registration plates.
Katherine Galdieri, leader of Troop 20368 based in Concord, NH, said both Walmart and the police were wonderful.
She said she and her daughter Veronica, a 12-grader, were just about ready to close up the cookie booth when a man came up, leaned over the table asking about cookies, then ran off with their cash box.
“He didn’t touch us,” she said. “It was very bold!”
Galdieri said she was glad it didn’t happen to the Girl Scout troop taking over the booth for them, as they were young Daisy Girl Scouts doing their first booth.
Galdieri’s troop has been working hard to earn money for a big trip in their final year of Girl Scouts and typically runs 30 or more cookie booths a year.
“We’ll just keep going,” she said. “Everyone was very helpful and very nice.
Walmart donated $400 to Girl Scouts following the event.
“We are thankful no one was hurt in this incident,” said Kristel Rigoli, chief operating and revenue officer for Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains, the council serving Girl Scouts in New Hampshire and Vermont. “Kate and her Girl Scouts handled this distressing situation well. While they are upset that anyone would steal the money they work so hard to earn, they are determined to continue their efforts to meet their goals in order to fund their Girl Scout activities.”
Rigoli said the safety and security of our members is always Girl Scouts’ chief concern. “We have strict guidelines for safety. Girl Scouts must be accompanied or supervised by an adult when selling Girl Scout Cookies and must always use the buddy system.”
Galdieri and her daughter, along with two other Girl Scouts in her troop appeared on WMUR-TV’s Heart of New Hampshire program on Sunday, Feb. 15, where they talked about their love of Girl Scouting and their experience as some of the council’s top cookie sellers. Veronica Galdieri is an accomplished Girl Scout who plans to represent the council as a delegate at Girl Scouts of the USA’s national convention this summer.
The Lebanon Police Department offered to make the troop whole through their charity effort, which Galdieri and the council appreciate, but Rigoli said she would prefer those more in need benefit from the fund, as the council can accept donations.
Anyone with leads on the theft is encouraged to contact Lebanon police at 603-448-1212, or by submitting a tip to 603-448-CLUE (2583) or online at https://lebanonnh.gov/FormCenter/Police-Department-14/Crime-Tips-81.
Should anyone wish to donate to the troop following this incident, the council has set up a donation site at https://bit.ly/cookietheft. The first $1,000 will go to the troop that was affected, with any amount over that benefiting Girl Scouts across New Hampshire and Vermont.