SANDPOINT — In what seems to be an every-person-out-for-themselves kind of world, this tale of two Oregon coffee shops perked my interest — pun fully intended.

It’s been a year since Dave and Tina McAdams opened The Local Coffee Company in Oak Grove, Portland. However, instead of being able to celebrate the milestone with his wife, Dave McAdams marked the momentous occasion in hospice care.

McAdams had been diagnosed with cancer — for the third time ­— with the most recent diagnosis saying this time the cancer was inoperable and terminal, according to a story on goodnewsnetwork.org.

But this isn’t a story about tears and sadness, although there is that. No, this is a story about a fellow coffee shop owner and her friendship with Dave and Tina McAdams. When Pixie Adams, the owner of the Moonlight Coffee across town, learned what the couple was going through and that his admittance into hospice care would likely cause financial difficulties, Adams put aside the friendly competition with her fellow coffee shop owners and did what many might think foolish or unthinkable ­— she stepped in to help, even closing her own stand down one day to keep The Local Coffee Company open, the website noted.

So, instead of having to deal with the diagnosis and medical bills on their own, Pixie Adams was right there with them. According to the Washington Post, Adams knew firsthand what the McAdamses were going through — she’d fought her own battle with cancer in 2017. She’d also mentored the couple, talking to them at one of her training sessions for small businesses, held between selling lattes and baked goods.

They’d envisioned the drive-through coffee shop as a way to earn a living, but also a way they’d be able to spend their lives together. And then their world dropped out from underneath them. Tina McAdams was torn between keeping the coffee shop afloat and spending the precious little time she and Dave had left together with her husband.

And then Pixie stepped in. She’s been an ear to listen, a friend and an extra set of hands, volunteering her time to the family by working at The Local for free, the goodnewsnetwork.org reported. Her actions not only helped generate additional income to pay for the McAdams’ medical bills, it has also helped ensure The Local will stay open even after Dave is gone.

“It’s supposed to be friendship over business, community over competition,” Pixie Adams told KATU, according to the website. “I am here supporting them, trying to generate attention for their business to help make sure that after Dave is gone, they still have the ability to keep the coffee place open.”

How many of us would do that — put aside our own needs and wants, our own self-interest to help someone else in need? To help because it’s the right thing to do, because it puts a smile on someone else’s face? Or lightens their load. Maybe it’s buying a coffee for the person in line behind you, setting up a chain reaction of kindness that continues through the day. Maybe it’s paying for groceries for someone who forgot their checkbook or buying extra to drop the items off at the Bonner Community Food Bank.

And, in a sense, what Pixie Adams is doing is exactly what the Sandpoint Lions Club does every year — working tirelessly to raise the needed funds and toys to help all of the community’s children have a merry Christmas. If a youngster is in need, they get toys and presents to ensure a merry Christmas. No questions asked. Smiles included at no extra charge.

Today’s donations add up to $3,225.13, bringing the total to $38,773.94 — about $11,000 short of the Sandpoint Lions’ goal of $50,000 — the same as it has been in past years.

Generous donations were received from: Susan E. Johnson (“in memory, with love, of my mother Lela Taylor and nephew, William Johnson” Cynthia Taylor), $50; Susan E Johnson (In loving memory of our brother William Johnson. Juliette, Victoria and Rebecca Johnson), $200; Doug & Mindi Bradetich (in memory of our fathers, Ron McCormick and Phil Bradetich), $100; a second donation from Cravens Taxidermy, this one for $50; Fred & Karla Darnell (in memory of Fred Darnell), $100; John & Susan Wall, $50; Kevin Murray, $125; the Forciers, $25; Robert Gooby Living Trust, $100; Chris & Judy Thompson, $50; Barbara Botsch, $100; Karen Sjoquist, $30; Idaho Forest Group, $2001; and from coin jars around the community — Pecks, $7.37; Travel America, $153; Eichardt’s, $31; Pour Authority, $6.26; and Mr. Sub, $71.50.

The Lions make the most of the money by shopping bargains, and with the assistance of generous local businesses. The Toys for Tots program provides free new toys for children living in the Lake Pend Oreille School District, from Sandpoint to Clark Fork and all points in-between.

A Christmas dinner for the family is also provided.

Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

You can also drop off donations at Columbia Bank’s main branch in Sandpoint, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Bonner Mall Way.

Donations may be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note. If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.