TP the Town started as an English assignment to Change the World . . . a pretty daunting thought to most grade 11 students. Jordan Crouse approached her homeroom teacher looking for a suggestion. When we do traditional food drives, no one thinks of toilet paper, but we all use it! Jordan decided to expand the scope of the project and include feminine hygiene products and other toiletries. It was all about DIGNITY for those who struggle with securing the basic necessities that so many of us take for granted. This had never been done in Atlantic Canada.
The students called each charity and asked for a “ball park” figure of what they would go through in a year . . . when the requests were first totalled, it came to 18,000 rolls of TP and as much as we could provide of feminine hygiene products.
The students then contacted local businesses and collected gift cards and coupons that they could use to increase student engagement – for every 5 rolls that you donated, your name would be entered in the draw for one of the cards. We secured a pizza party from PANAGO for the homeroom that brought in the most TP. We had the CEO of the men’s homeless shelter do a PSA on our video announcements.
This event has become an ongoing tradition in Fredericton with the TP total above 40,000 rolls.
Carolyn Barnhart Fredericton High School