The Girl Guides' Spring Cookie Selling Campaign is on, officially making it the best time of the year.

"I just picked up 150 cases of cookies from Winnipeg on the weekend so we're ready to kick off our campaign," says Kim Houle, District Commissioner of the Portage Girl Guides. "It starts Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and we'll be set up with our cookie drive-through like we did last spring, which was very successful."

You can drive-through at three different and buy your cookies from the girls. They'll be set up at Stride Place, the Co-op at River Road by Arthur Meighen School, and Convention Corner at the corner of 3rd Street East and Saskatchewan Avenue.

"You can just drive up with your $5 for a box of cookies and the girls will be happy to bring them to you," says Houle. "The cookie selling is our main fundraiser but we can be seen in the community doing a lot of community service projects, which is also one of the main focuses of the Girl Guides. We'll be helping at the Soup Kitchen Thursday of Spring Break, we've helped at PAWS, and we've helped Rotary with their vegetable sales."

"All the proceeds go toward all of the local programs here in Portage," adds Houle. "So it goes to girls that want to go camping, weekly programming and crafts, other activities like science or things they earn badges for. We meet every Wednesday at Trinity United Church from 5:30 to 7, and the programming starts in September and usually ends around May. The younger kids end at the end of April due to soccer starting because it's a popular activity in Portage as well."

Girl Guides consists of Sparks which are kids in Kindergarten and Grade 1. Brownies for Grades 2 and 3. Guides are for Grades 4, 5, and 6, and Pathfinders are in Grades 7, 8, and 9.

"We've got about 50 girls in the program now, when I started about five years ago here in Portage we were about 30 or so, and the program is just exploding here in Portage. There are so many girls that want to participate and the growth has been fabulous. A big shout out to the volunteers that help us every week with the Girl Guide program. We wouldn't have this awesome programming for all the girls, so they deserve a big shout out."

The Girl Guides will also be at the Portage Islanders game Thursday night at Stride Place, and the at Battle of the Badges hockey game Saturday at Stride Place as well.