Monongahela family gives away toilet paper

By TAYLOR BROWN

tbrown@yourmvi.com

A Monongahela resident had a hot commodity to give  away Friday.

William Hefner parked his truck, filled with individually wrapped rolls of toilet paper, at Monongahela Manor with a sign that read, “Free TP, Take A Few.”

His daughter, Angelia, 11 and son, Maximus, 3, sat in the front seat waving to those who stopped to take advantage of the generosity.

“It’s something I decided to do this morning with the kids because it is the right thing to do,” he said.

Hefner said he and his children did not leave the truck and practiced social distancing measures recommended by the state Department of Health.

While Hefner is still working, his wife, Sara, is a stay-at-home mom.

“I have kept rolling through all of this and she is at home, not able to leave, there is not anything I can do,” he said. “Everything we are all usually able to occupy ourselves with is off of the table.

“So I thought I would give her a bit of a break and take the kids with me to give something to someone who might need it more than we do.”

Hefner said his family frequently purchases items in bulk and when necessities like toilet paper became hard to find, he decided to sort through the extras and give them away.

“It’s easy to see how much I have been blessed in my life,” he said. “In a time where a lot of people are being selfish, it made sense to help those who are high risk and not able to leave their homes.”

He chose the high-rise because of those inside who may not have family locally to help them.

“When I am that age, if I was alone, afraid, I would hope someone would do the same for me,” he said.

His daughter was very excited to help.

“She loves being able to do things that make other people smile,” he said. “She waved to everyone who walked up to the truck.

“If circumstances were different, she would have been tossing around hugs.”

He and his children eventually moved to the parking lot First Baptist Church, where he and his family are members.

In all, they parked for about three hours between both locations and gave away more than a case of toilet paper.

“We still had a few rolls left at the end of the day,” he said. “But I was kind of relieved. I thought maybe I would run out in five minutes and have to turn people away.”

With the virus is expected to worsen in the coming weeks, he said the community has a responsibility.

“This is our responsibility as human beings,” he said. “This is what God has called us to do. Religious or not, it should be born into you to love each other. Especially in times like this.

“If we step as a whole, if we pull together, we will get through this.”