The Girl Scouts’ annual cookie sale, which wrapped up earlier this month, is vital for every troop. However, it’s especially crucial for Troop 6000, which comprises girls living in shelters or experiencing homelessness. Troop 6000’s cookie sales cover all fees for the girls, including summer camps, trips, and other activities.

Since 2017, the troop has sold over $1.6 million in cookies, benefitting almost 2,500 girls and women in more than 20 shelters in Greater New York. Nine-year-old Gilesy, who’s lived in a New York City shelter for over a year, said, “I was a very shy person, but when I realized you could go on all these adventures, I was like, ‘Mommy, I’m not shy anymore.’”

Her mother, Giselle Burgess, is the reason Troop 6000 exists. In 2017, she lived in a shelter with her five children while working at Girl Scouts of Greater New York. She asked her boss if she could start a troop, and her boss agreed. She said, “It’s such a discouraging and scary time already to live in a shelter. It was exciting to see girls as they were walking by, participating and laughing in one room.”

Burgess and her family no longer live in a shelter, and Troop 6000 has thrived under her leadership as program director. The troop sells cookies at booths in the New York City area for a few days every year, and Bank of America matched those sales this year. The troop also sells cookies online.

The funds help the troop hold Girl Scouts activities and launch programs like the Troop 6000 Transition Initiative to support scouts and their families as they transition to permanent housing. Troop 6000 has inspired similar troops around the country, like Greater Iowa, Middle Tennessee, the Sierra Nevada region, Orange County, California, and Los Angeles. A viral 2021 tweet also helped Troop 6000 gain attention.

“This population of young women has seen incredibly traumatic events. And that is right at the core of what we need to do. We need to take care of them and show them that they deserve the care,” said Meridith Maskara, CEO of Girl Scouts of Greater New York.

This January, Troop 6000 expanded into New York City’s Emergency Response and Relief Centers to bring the program to immigrants and asylum seekers. Since last spring, about 60,000 migrants have entered the city’s Department of Homeless Services, with roughly 37,500 people currently in the city’s care, according to the New York City Mayor’s office. So far, 100 migrant girls have joined Girl Scouts Troop 6000.

Laura, an 11-year-old who came to New York from Colombia, said, “I’ve only seen this in the movies. This is like a dream come true.” Over 40 percent of Troop 600 speak Spanish as their first language. Though Gilesy was shy when she first joined Girl Scouts, now she wants to be a child therapist when she grows up. She wants to help children like she was helped through Girl Scouts.

Living in a shelter can’t be easy. However, this special troop will continue succeeding and helping those in need.