‘Hello, is that the director? Would you like 192,000 free paper towels?’

Taranaki principal Fiona Low was beginning her work week as usual when the office phone rang and a man asked her if her school would like 192,000 paper towels for free.

Despite initially thinking it was probably a sales pitch, the office team at Manukorihi Intermediate School in Waitara found themselves accepting the offer and then not thinking about it again.

That is, until a few weeks later, when the first few boxes arrived, each containing 4,000 paper towels.

Low later learned that Waitara School was one of seven in the region to receive a pallet of 48 boxes for free.

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“The amount of spam and calls we’ve been getting since Covid, with companies trying to sell you something,” Low said.

“But when someone can offer something like that, it’s great because our money can go back to our children, and that’s where our money should be spent.”

There are 265 students enrolled at the school, meaning the paper towels will last about two to three years — saving a whopping $5,000.

Low said the money would be spent wisely as the school struggled with staff illness and had to pay emergency aid teachers to help.

“With that money I could hire a teacher assistant for 203 hours, which is great.

“We spent our money on support staff, so 203 hours is like full-time for two terms, or we can split that over the whole year.”

Other schools that received paper towel pallets last week included Waitara East School, Marfell Community School, Hurirangi School, St Josephs Waitara, Te Pipinga Kakaro Nui Rangitea School and Waitara Central School.

The two responsible for the delivery of the mysterious paper towel were 24-year-old James Toomey and 27-year-old Darby Judd, who both work for New Plymouth-based Cleanline Tasman, which produces workwear, personal protective equipment, safety equipment and hygiene services. and cleaning products. to companies.

Toomey and Judd had a conversation in their smoking room about the rising cost of living.

The next day, they met with colleagues and formulated ideas about how they could help in the community.

Within the day, Toomey contacted seven different schools, each offering 1.2 million free paper towels, and the first truckload of pallets was delivered the following week.

“It wasn’t a marketing plan, it just came out of a conversation,” Judd said.

“This isn’t something we have an agenda behind and if other companies want to get involved, that would be great.”

Toomey said that despite a school thinking it was a sales pitch and hanging up, they were the easiest seven pallets he’d moved.

“I realized how much this category costs those schools and it’s a necessary evil; it’s a product you need to dry your hands and keep hygienic,” said Toomey.

“It’s better now that they can use that money that they should have spent on this category. They can now use it to help the kids elsewhere, which will take the pressure off all corners of the problem.”