Wichita ? It’s not the traditional way Girl Scout cookies are sold, but scouting officials in Wichita say it’s working.

With public sales finished for the year, officials don’t want the 2,000 boxes of leftover cookies to go to waste.

So they came up with the Cookie Share program, aimed at raising money for the scouts while getting rid of unsold cookies. Under the program, people pay for cookies that are then donated to charity, said Cindy Nolte, communication director for the Girl Scouts of the Golden Plains Council.

The cookie sharing program has only been tried in a few cities, including Denver.

So far, Wichita Girl Scout officials say they have been pleased by the results. To date, 4,800 boxes have been donated through the program. One Wichita family, who asked to remain anonymous, gave $2,000.

“Normally, this would have been an expense to us,” Ann Sanders, the council’s product sales manager, said of the unsold cookies, which cannot be returned to the bakery.

“But the community has been very generous to us before,” Sanders said. “And we still have these cookies. We thought rather than give them away, we’d rather see them purchased.”

Nolte said she suspects cookie sales are down this year because of the sagging economy. Final sales figures are not yet available.

“Many of our staunch cookie sale supporters have lost their jobs,” Nolte said. “We thought maybe people who are more fortunate could still help the sales and a charity.”

Donors can choose from among a handful of Wichita area charities to receive their portion of cookies, Nolte said, or they can allow Girl Scout authorities to equally divide the cookies among the charities.

People have until March 29 to participate.

“We think this is great for people who are wanting to stick to their New Year’s resolutions,” Nolte said. “They can buy the cookies and never see them.”