MOLINE, Illinois — Friday, Sears Awning Company held their second toilet paper giveaway for seniors. The first, held in March, was such a success they decided to hold another one.
All seniors have to do is drive up, honk, and they're gifted with four free rolls.
Rick Powell, owner of Sears Awning Company, got the idea on a grocery trip to HyVee.
"I walked into a local HyVee here with a cute 84-year-old woman, and her name was Betsy," Powell explains. "She had said that it was the fifth store she'd been to that day."
Friday, Powell says he's given away about 900 rolls and plans to reach a total of 1300, which has cost him around $1000. Each case of toilet paper he gets costs around $100.
"I'm a senior citizen on a fixed income, so this will help," says Holly Lingall, a toilet paper customer.
"By the time I get there people pass me up," says Gary Rasso, explaining his trip to the store. "Even though people see I walk with a cane or a walker, they kind of push me out of the way."
"The phones never stopped ringing," Powell says. "We had people from Elgin, Illinois come down, from Sterling-Rock Falls are coming down."
But Friday is the last time Powell will be giving away TP. He says he has his business he needs to worry about.
"I don't want to lay anybody off," comments Powell. "So, I'm trying my best to keep everybody working."
"If it wasn't for that little lady that I walked in with at the store, this probably never would've happened.
Powell says if there are any leftover rolls, they will be donated to a nearby assisted living home.