What began as a single act in Brainerd, Minnesota, in early December launched a chain of kindness that lasted two-and-a-half days and involved more than 900 cars.

Brainerd Dairy Queen store manager Tina Jensen was on duty when a man told employees he wanted to pay for the car behind him, according to a story on goodnewsnetwork.org. She passed the news along to the folks in the next car, and asked if they wanted to do the same. That driver agreed and soon word began to spread on social media and no one wanted to break the chain, Jensen told the TV station.

“One lady, she was so excited, she threw us a 20 dollar bill almost in tears. ‘Are you serious. This is really going on?,’” she said in the interview. “I said, yep, you are about 125 cars into it. She said, ‘For real, can you believe this?’”

Jensen posted about the pay-it-forward campaign on the store’s Facebook page and soon people were driving to the restaurant just so they could participate.

“Our fans were so excited. They didn’t want to break the chain. They wanted to keep that chain going,” Jensen told KARE-TV. “They were just, ‘Let’s do this.’ They definitely did not want to stop.”

Word of the campaign quickly spread on social media, with Jensen updating the store’s fans on what was going on. First a few dozen, then 150 and then 275.

“Not sure if it’s the sun shining, or the Christmas Spirit is already here,” Jensen posted early in the campaign on Thursday, Dec. 3. “But it started with one and we are now at 48 cars that have paid it forward! Let’s keep this caring training going.”

It became clear the next morning that the community wanted to keep the kindness campaign going.

“The power of one small act yesterday during lunch continued through the night,” Jensen posted. “Every Fan for the remainder of the day Paid it Forward, resulting in over 280 cars. The night ended with $10 being paid forward and we will continue making memories today and start paying it forward. We are all in this together. One RED SPOON at a TIME!!!”

The drive continued throughout the day and by the time the store closed for the night, the number of people paying it forward hit 796 and another $10 being left to pay it forward for a third day.

The pay-it-forward campaign lasted all of Thursday, all of Friday and most of Saturday, Jensen told the TV station. By the time the campaign ended after 2 1/2 days, more than 900 people had taken part and sales topped $10,000.

Being a part of such an act of kindness was inspiring, Jensen said.

“No matter what hard times anybody is going through, just take care of each other,” she added. “That’s what it is. Just take care of each other.”

We have our own act of kindness campaign going on in the community — the Sandpoint Lions’ Toys for Tots annual Christmas drive — and it’s one that has lasted decades.

While no new donations were received Saturday, so far this community’s generosity continues, with a total of bringing the total amount of $17,475,91 received to date of the $50,000 goal set by the Lions for the annual Christmas campaign.

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. If you know someone, or need help yourself, the Lions are taking applications for the 2020 Toys for Tots program.

Applications are available at the Lions Den, 609 S. Ella St., Sandpoint, on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; online at the Sandpoint Lions Facebook page, facebook.com/SandpointLionsClub; or at Bonner Community Food Bank, 1707 Culvers Drive, Sandpoint. The deadline to submit an application is Monday, Dec. 14.

Masks are required to enter the Lions Den building or those dropping them off may also place them into the red box next to the door.

Toys may be dropped off at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint; Farmhouse Restaurant, 477227 U.S. 95, Ponderay; Columbia Bank — Sandpoint branch, 414 Church St.; and Ponderay branch, 300 Kootenai Cutoff Road; Walmart, 476999 U.S. 95, Ponderay; and North 40, 477181 U.S. 95, Ponderay.

There are a host of coin jars around the community where spare change can be donated. In addition, monetary donations may be dropped off at both branches of Columbia Bank and the Bonner County Daily Bee during normal business hours. 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.