There were times during the pandemic that Ellen Faulkner could not imagine running TP North Bay.
However, fast forward into late August and Faulkner, the chair of TP North Bay, was holding a press conference at the North Bay Food Bank launching the 2020 campaign which was supposed to take place back in May.
This is the seventh straight year for the toilet paper campaign with a goal of gathering 20,000 rolls. Instead of relying on a retail store drive, the organizers are hoping to use social media to generate donations and interest to the cause.
See: Toilet paper collection takes a COVID hit
"This is a great opportunity for us to go viral and a great opportunity for people to drop off toilet paper for us," said Faulkner.
"We are hoping for 20,000, are we going to get that? We don't know. We have been at 20,000 for a couple of years now, but we have been down to 11,000, 15,000, and all the way up to 25,000 so we don't know. We just go about our business and if we go above 20,000 it is a bonus."
The campaign begins September 1 and runs until October 31. Those who wish to make a monetary donation can go to northbayfoodbank.ca/donate and add TP North Bay in the title section. Meantime, toilet paper donations can be made at Allison the Bookman on Main Street, Fire Station 1 on Princess Street, the Davedi Club on Airport Road, and the North Bay Food Bank on Fisher Street.
Faulkner feared the worst for the campaign at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when merchants everywhere could not keep toilet paper on the shelves.
Faulkner urges those hoarders to give back.
"When they first started hoarding the toilet paper, all I could think of was, 'when this comes to an end and we can start collecting, I hope those hoarders bring back the toilet paper and donate to TP North Bay,'" she said.
Debbie Marson, executive director of the North Bay Food Bank, says the toilet paper initiative really makes a difference.
"This allows us to focus on the other things that have to go in the hampers," explains Marson.
"They used to go to all the retailers and do blitzes and I suggested we do like everyone else and stay online. If we can manage it that way, where people are making their donations monetarily and take those donations and relocate it to a purchase, then we will track it. If they want to drop off, we have been accepting donations here right from the beginning. We do it with a socially distanced transfer so there's enough distance between us. There are ways to do it without the traditional way but still be successful in trying to reach that 20,000 roll goal."