Sharon Day appears on The Early Show broadcast from Greensburg, KS

Just imagine. You do a favor that really helps someone and tell him or her not to pay it back, but to pay it forward to someone else, who, in turn, pays it forward to another person - and on and on into a global outpouring of kindness and decency.

Impossible?

Thirty-eight junior high students in Greensburg, Kansas wouldnt accept impossible, so they began a coin drive for a school project, hoping to start a chain reaction of goodness. Organized by Josh Dellenbach who told his students he would match whatever amount they collected, they raised over $5,500 to help victims of the February 5th tornadoes here in the State of Tennessee.

If you may recall, it was exactly one year ago, on May 4th that a ferocious EF5 tornado tore through the small town of Greensburg, population 1,398, sweeping away eleven lives in the 205 mph winds.

According to local residents, 95% of their community fell victim to the violent weather and the damage was so severe that hours after the tornado, Greensburg was judged unsafe and was fully evacuated.

But rather than blame God, these folks have persevered by allowing their faith to help get them through.

On Friday, April 24th, Sharon Day, Assistant Bank Manager at Green Bank, received an envelope addressed to their bank here in Lafayette that read: Please add this donation to the Macon County Tornado Relief Fund. The prayers and thoughts of Greensburg, Kansas are with your community.

The signature I could not make out, remarked Sharon, but the name I thought could possibly be John, turned out to be Josh, and all I had to go by was the name the account was drawn on, Unified District No. 422 Kiowa County Greensburg, Kansas School Activity Fund.

I assumed it was probably from some type of fund raiser or class project.

Friday was a very busy day at the bank, Sharon continued, so I had no time to investigate or track the person or persons that had sent such a generous donation.

But Sharon made a mental note not to forget this check for $1,463.15.

On Monday morning, April 28th, as Sharon went about her regular routine of getting dressed for work and watching the news, she heard words that stopped her in her tracks.

Live today from Greensburg, Kansas, where less than one year ago, an EF5 tornado took 95% of the homes.

I was so overwhelmed all I could do was stand there and cry, Sharon said, because at that time I realized the check in my desk was from the children of Greensburg, Kansas.

Thanks to the internet, by Tuesday afternoon, Sharon was exchanging e-mails with the person she had previously thought was John but turned out to be Josh Dellenbach, a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teacher from Greensburg.

After expressing my thanks for their donation, I began to question Josh about the project and what they had done to raise this amount of money. His reply was, I challenged them to a coin drive and for all the money they brought in, I would match it.

The project was a bigger success than Josh could have ever imagined with matching donations of $1,463.15 to Macon County, Union University in Jackson, TN, and the Salvation Army.

What is so amazing, said Sharon, this is 38 students who are still attending class in mobile units as their school is still under construction from last years tornado. But Josh expressed to me that this was a great step in the healing process for his students.

Sharon was so moved by this heartwarming gesture that she sent a letter, via e-mail, to CBS News and the Early Show requesting that they please recognize Josh and his class at some point during their Greensburg Rising broadcast. This teacher and his 38 students give the true meaning of pay-it-forward.

As fate would have it, two young producers received the letter and immediately contacted Sharon at Greenbank on Thursday morning, May 1st with news that sent Sharon and this writer (who just happened to be sitting there when she received the call) into a tailspin.

In the wake of both towns being devastated by a tornado a year apart, they graciously offered to fly Sharon to Greensburg to thank Josh and his class of 38, in person.

And of course, Sharon said, YES!, laughing and crying at the same time.

Sharon and her daughter, Kayla, left Nashville International Airport that night at 6:40 p.m. arriving at Wichita at 12:30 a.m. where a limo was waiting to drive them to their hotel near Greensburg.

Saying a little prayer and asking God to give her strength, Sharon met Josh on camera, early Friday morning, for the first time. Sharing a mutual respect immediately, she hugged Josh and thanked him and his students for thinking of us in our time of need.

I am honored to be here today, Sharon told Harry Smith, and not wanting to come empty-handed, Sharon donated five Dell computers to the Greensburg School System from Macon County courtesy of Greenbank, Citizens Bank, Macon Bank, North Central Telephone, and Tri-County Electric.

Off camera, Sharon spent some alone time with Josh and his students.

I explained to this wonderful group of young people, Sharon said, that this act of kindness and dedication would make an impact on them till adulthood. When you give with an open and loving heart it comes back ten fold. And my promise and pledge to Greensburg, Kansas is that Macon County, and the State of Tennessee will Pay It Forward.

In honor of Sharons pledge, she is asking for the communitys help. Beginning this Saturday, May 10th through Saturday, May 17th, please donate all your spare change to the Macon County/Tennessee Pay It Forward Fund, at Greenbank, 440 Hwy. 52 By Pass W. Money collected from schools, organizations, or any groups will be greatly appreciated.

Our plans are to send this money to victims of the tornadoes that ripped through Arkansas and Virginia last week and one other organization to be determined.

Working through the loss and grief here in Lafayette, Sharon said, has really been hard on everyone and receiving this check from a group of young tornado survivors is actually a bright spot in our communitys recovery and it will forever be etched into my mind how children truly are prophets of our future.