A 6-year-old Girl Scout from the Pittsburgh area has drawn national attention after her family and local reports said she sold about 87,000 boxes of cookies this season, a total they say surpasses widely cited single season benchmarks and has set her sights on an even larger goal before the annual sale ends.
The surge in orders has turned Pim Neill, a Daisy Scout in kindergarten, into a familiar face on social media and local television, where she and her father describe a mix of old-fashioned door knocking and online posts that spread far beyond western Pennsylvania. The sales totals have been reported at different points in February as her count continued to climb, but the figures place her far above the typical scale of a youth fundraiser and have fueled claims that she is rewriting what a single season can look like for one scout.
Pim’s push began with a small target, her father, Luke Anorak-Neill, said in interviews. At first, the goal was to earn enough proceeds for Girl Scout camp and to keep up with other children in her troop. Her ambitions grew quickly as orders came in, he said, moving from trying to lead her group of 11 kindergartners to chasing five figure sales and then a number her family described as record-setting. By mid-February, several outlets reported totals ranging from more than 75,000 boxes to more than 81,000, with one widely shared figure placing her near 87,000 boxes.
The story has followed a simple arc that became dramatic in the telling: a kindergartner who wanted to sell cookies, a parent who decided to help, and a community response that expanded through shares, reposts and messages from strangers. Anorak-Neill said Pim started the season on Jan. 6 and sold 819 boxes by that first Friday, a pace that would be impressive for many troops. In the weeks that followed, he said, her posts on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram reached large audiences and turned into a steady stream of requests, including orders from outside Pennsylvania.
Local coverage and family accounts say the online support arrived after an early setback. Pim’s father has said the family was initially turned away when they tried to join a troop, and he has described the experience as painful because he said it was tied to Pim’s disabilities. He said they tried again with another troop and eventually found a fit, and he later became a troop leader. In interviews, he has credited Girl Scouts in western Pennsylvania with giving Pim a place to belong and a chance to build confidence, even as he has also criticized what he described as an exclusionary response from individuals early in their search.
From the start, the family framed the cookie goal as more than a tally on a spreadsheet. Anorak-Neill has said Pim wanted to go to camp and to use proceeds for activities with her troop. He also said she had talked about visiting Niagara Falls, a family dream he has described as meaningful for personal reasons. As the count climbed, he said Pim’s new target became 100,026 boxes, a precise number he has referenced in posts as a marker tied to camp, troop adventures and community service projects. The number also became a way to keep momentum when her story began to travel beyond Pittsburgh.
The cookie sale itself is a familiar ritual in many communities, with scouts taking orders at doors, tables outside stores and through online links supported by local councils. Pim’s rise has highlighted how quickly that tradition can change when it meets the mechanics of modern social media. In televised interviews, Anorak-Neill said the family still did in-person sales, but he also leaned heavily on videos and updates that told Pim’s story and tracked progress. In one report, a representative from Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania said Pim’s effort showed how scouts can use technology to reach broader audiences while still practicing the program’s focus on goals, planning and teamwork.
Precise record claims can be difficult to verify because Girl Scout cookie sales are run through regional councils and can be measured in different ways. Still, multiple reports have compared Pim’s single season total to commonly cited figures such as a 32,000 box season by another scout, and some stories have also mentioned a far larger lifetime total credited to a top seller over many years. Pim’s family has described her count as a single season mark, and the comparisons have helped explain why a six-figure goal, once unthinkable, has come to feel within reach for her supporters.
The attention has brought celebration, but it has also raised questions about what the number represents for a child and for a youth organization built around local troops. Pim’s family and local Girl Scouts have presented the campaign as a team effort, emphasizing that adult help is required for shipping, logistics and online outreach, while still portraying Pim as the face of the drive and the person setting the goals. Anorak-Neill has described the experience as a lesson in persistence and community, saying Pim stayed upbeat even when she was tired and kept asking what the next milestone would be.
For Pim’s troop, the story has become a point of pride in a season when many scouts are trying to pay for trips, badges and camp. Her father has said Pim talks about using funds for activities with her troop and for projects that help others. He has also said the family tries to keep the focus on positive messages and belonging, an approach that has helped the story spread among people who see the cookie sale as nostalgic and among others who see it as a window into how children now raise money in a world shaped by video clips and viral trends.
The surge in orders has also created a practical reality: cookies must be delivered and the season has a clock. Cookie programs typically have cutoff dates set by councils, and the final totals can shift as payments clear and shipments arrive. In interviews, Anorak-Neill has said the family has worked to keep up with demand and to communicate clearly about timing. The reports that placed Pim near 87,000 boxes were described as snapshots in mid-February, suggesting the count could grow as the season continues and as late orders are processed.
In Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Pim’s story has played out like a modern twist on a familiar scene, with a child in a vest asking neighbors to support her goals. What made this season different was the scale and the speed, fueled by online attention that reached beyond local streets. The family’s updates have treated the total like a running scoreboard, and the comments have turned into a stream of encouragement from people who say they ordered a box, shared a post or simply wanted to cheer on a kindergartner chasing an audacious target.
As of mid-February, the most recent reports put Pim’s total in the mid to high 80,000s, with her family still pushing toward 100,026 boxes before the sale ends. Whether the final number lands at that goal or below it, the season has already shifted her from a new Daisy Scout trying to earn camp money into a headline figure for a program that has long used cookies to teach kids how to set goals, talk to customers and follow through. The next milestone will be the close of the local sale and the final accounting of her total.
Author note: Last updated February 16, 2026.