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Over 900 cars participate in pay-it-forward at Dairy Queen drive-thru

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Over 900 cars pay-it-forward at Dairy Queen drive-thru
International Dairy Queen
ABC News' associate social media producer, Zoe Moore.
ByZoe Moore
December 11, 2020, 8:09 PM

A drive-thru at a Dairy Queen in Brainerd, Minnesota, was busy last week when more than 900 cars participated in a pay-it-forward chain.

According to Dairy Queen, the 900-car pay-it-forward event spanned two-and-a-half days.

Dairy Queen employees in Brainerd, Minnesota.
International Dairy Queen

"I will say it over and over and over again, you never know who you're gonna touch when you do something. We don't know how many people that we could have touched in a bigger way," Tina Jensen, the Brainerd Dairy Queen general manager, told "Good Morning America."

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The pay-it-forward started Thursday during lunch and lasted through Saturday night.

According to Jensen, the line started when a man decided to pay for the bill of the person behind him.

After Jensen told the next car her order was taken care of she decided to keep the chain going and pay for the car after her.

Dairy Queen pay-it-forward started on Thursday, Dec. 3 during the lunch rush and lasted through the evening of Saturday, Dec. 5.
International Dairy Queen

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From there, Jensen said it just kept going and going.

Jensen said she has seen 15 to 20 cars pay-it-forward but never this many. The mom of five who has been married for 29 years said the pay-it-forward chain brought so much joy and positivity to all those who participated and her staff.

Dairy Queen worker icing a cake in Brainerd, Minnesota.
International Dairy Queen

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"Take care of each other," Jensen said. "You know, if you can help somebody, help them, you don't know how it could change their life and yours."

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