KGUN9-TV in Tucson, AZ, reports that a Tucson Girl Scout Troop earned a Congressional award for selling Girl Scout Cookies recently. The office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords presented Girl Scout Troop 518 with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition Friday for overcoming their fear and deciding to sell cookies at a place many of the girls still find scary.On January 8th, a lone gunman opened fire at a Congress on Your Corner event in front of the Safeway as people lined up to meet Rep. Giffords. Six people were killed and 13 were injured, including Giffords. Among the dead was nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, a 3rd grader.
In the weeks following the shooting, many children struggled with the idea that such a horrible and random tragedy could claim the life of someone so young. As the Girl Scouts prepared to launch their annual cookie sale, they announced that they would not be selling cookies at the Safeway at Ina and Oracle where the shooting happened. Leaders decided that with the images of the shooting still so fresh in the minds of many of the young girls, it would just be too traumatic to expect them to stand behind a table and sell cookies in the same spot where so many people were gunned down. Other leaders turned down the idea of having a police presence at other cookie sale locations, concerned once again that the girls would be reminded of the images from the day of the shooting.
But some of the Girl Scouts changed their minds about selling near the scene of the shooting. That's because many members of Troop 518 went to school with Christina-Taylor Green and knew her well. While that may have made some kids feel even sadder about visiting the site where Green was killed, these girls wanted to honor her memory by being there.