NILES — Girl Scout Troop 80002 member Caja Wolf’s affinity for military personnel began when she was just 3, according to her mother, Victoria Wolf.

She relayed a story about being out to dinner with her family when Caja saw a woman dressed in military fatigues whom Caja hugged and took a photo with. Caja’s sister, Jalen Jefferson — who also was a Girl Scout — is about to complete her basic training and pursue a career as a chaplain’s assistant.

So it’s no surprise that Caja, 9, a fourth-grader at Niles Intermediate School, stepped up her Girl Scout cookie-selling game as part of Operation Sweet Appreciation, a program through the Girl Scouts that provides boxes of cookies to military members deployed overseas.

Caja raised enough donations this year to send 244 boxes of cookies overseas. Twenty-five of them were purchased by U.S. Rep. Timothy J. Ryan, D-Howland, after she sent an email to him through his website.

“In 2016, I got 14 boxes donated through Operation Sweet Appreciation. The next year, I wanted to get 24 boxes because my sister decided to join the Army and I got a lot more than my goal. This year, I knew she was leaving so I wanted to get as many donated as possible,” Caja said.

Victoria Wolf said Caja maximized donations by asking locally owned businesses to donate, and also asked individuals who purchased cookies to donate another box to the cause. Wolf said her daughter signed every letter sent to the businesses asking for donations.

“While at her big sister’s commencement, the man sitting to the right of her asked what she was so busy writing about. She told him she was thinking about local businesses that might want to donate cookies to the deployed. He asked her to explain how it worked, which she did from start to finish. He then told her to write down his name and number and put him down for $50 for next cookie season. Without missing a beat, she turned to him and said, ‘That would be $48 because they are 4 bucks a box.’ Sure enough, once this year’s cookie season began in January, she called him and he mailed us a check. He lives around Medina but has family in Niles and was quite impressed with Caja’s go-get-it attitude,” Wolf said.

Caja approached members of her church, Summit Assembly of God in McDonald, as well as neighbors and local business owners. The Frame Depot Gallery in Niles purchased 36 boxes of Girl Scout cookies from Caja, 18 of which the shop donated to deployed soldiers. Other businesses like Jay’s Auto Repair and Towing and P&A Super Pawn Brokers joined 13 area businesses in all to donate Girl Scout cookies to soldiers serving overseas.

Caja said she wanted to become a Girl Scout to make new friends and continue a family tradition: Her sister and her mom were both Girl Scouts.

“My favorite part of getting cookies donated is knowing that there is a soldier somewhere getting a box of cookies. I also like making the thank you cards and giving out hugs. It’s nice to be nice,” Caja said.

She said when she went to deliver cookies and cards to her sister’s recruiters, she got to give every one of them a hug and they allowed her to participate in some exercises with them.

In all, Caja sold more than 600 boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Wolf said she is very proud of her daughter.

“She made me take her to businesses on snow days. Hours and hours of going from one business to the next, most of them telling her no or they would think about it. But the look on her face anytime someone said yes I want to donate, it was priceless and worth the frozen nose, toes and fingers. She is a wonderful little girl,” Wolf said.