Man Pays for Car Behind Him at Minnesota Dairy Queen, Starting 'Pay It Forward' Chain 900 Cars Long

 Benjamin Lee, a manager at the 70 year old Dairy Queen in Quincy, MA, passes an order through a customer's window as part of the curbside service recently started at the restaurant and ice cream shop on April 19, 2020.
Benjamin Lee, a manager at the 70 year old Dairy Queen in Quincy, MA, passes an order through a customer's window as part of the curbside service recently started at the restaurant and ice cream shop on April 19, 2020. (Getty Images)

It all started last Thursday when one man decided to pay for the next person.

It started out with one man in line at a drive-thru Dairy Queen Minnesota decided to pay for the order of the car behind him. What resulted was 900 cars taking part in the "pay it forward" chain, CNN reported. Tina Jensen, the store manager, told CNN the man came through the line on Thursday and asked if he could pay for the customers behind him. She said when that happens, it usually only lasts 15 to 20 cars, at most.

This time, however, things were different. It just continued. When Thursday ended, the last customer left $10 to begin the next day, and the day after that, someone did the same.

"There's all different types of ways to help people," Jensen told CNN. "I think this touched a lot of people that we didn't even know it touched, deeper than we know. And you don't know what's going on in a person's life.”

The location ended up making $10,000 in sales, Jensen said.

Heidi Bruse told CNN she was one of the people who participated in and benefited from the act of kindness on Friday.

"During times like these, it kind of restores your faith in humanity a little," Bruse said. "The way the world is now, you see a lot of anger, tension and selfish behavior. What we witnessed was pure kindness and it was a breath of fresh air, really."

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