'Kindness economy' booms as Prontaprint King's Lynn offering free printing for home schoolers

The Coronavirus outbreak has seen many businesses adapt to the changing landscape of everyday life.

Some entrepreneurs have turned to handmade masks such as Charlottle Steele, a Lynn nurse.

Prontaprint, which opened in August, are now offering free printouts for home-schooling parents who don't have use of a printer.

Jenny Richards, owner of Prontaprint said: "I was inspired by a post I saw online about an estate agent near Newcastle using their photocopier for families and I thought to myself 'If they can do it, we certainly can!'"

Mary Portas spoke this week in 'Portas POV' about the new podcast The Kindness Economy saying: "We’re now seeing organisations you’d never imagine resetting their moral compass in a way that frankly will cost them in the short term.

As legendary ad man Bill Bernbach says: “A principle isn’t a principle until it costs you money.”

Jenny is in agreement with this: "Yes, I've lost 80% of my business and the Vancouver quarter has been decimated but I have the resources to help and I'm happy for this to take off. What costs others pounds costs me pennies. It's less about marketing and more about helping where we can.

I loved the Portas article it aligns with my ethos and I hope to see Lynn's small businesses thrive when we are hopefully out of this in the summer."

Prontaprint is open, ready for action, and is willing to post free printouts to families if they cover the small postage fee.

One Downham mum is 'delighted' with the offer as she's found it hard to do her children's work without a printer: "What a lovely gesture," she said, "I can't afford a printer and I have four children, so they can't all access the computer at once, some of them need to be doing their school work on paper."