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CASSOPOLIS — Right now, while most Michiganders are tucked away in their homes, practicing social distancing and avoiding potential contact with the COVID-19 virus, hundreds of thousands of essential personnel are at work.

Firefighters are putting out fires, police are patrolling the streets, and healthcare workers are caring for those most vulnerable to the disease. While doing so, they are risking their health and potentially even their lives.

To show support to those workers, one Cassopolis business is paying it forward.

Shake and tea shop Diamond Nutrition, 802 E. State St., Cassopolis, recently launched the Pay it Forward program. The program applies all tips and cash donations toward providing the shop’s tea bombs to essential workers. The community can contribute through CashApp at 4KayP622 or PayPal at paypal.me/KayP622 or through Facebook Messenger

So far, the shop’s owners, Kayla Patzer, of Dowagiac, and Ashley Foster, of Cassopolis, have made tea bomb donations to the Cassopolis Family Clinic and the police department.

“Our tea bombs are full of vitamins, nutrients, caffeine, and they are good for mind clarity and brain function,” Patzer said. “We figure, police officers, nursing staff, they don’t have any other option but to be out. So, we figured the tea bombs would help keep their immune systems up while they are potentially exposed to the virus regularly.”

When Patzer and Foster came up with the idea for the Pay it Forward program, they first sent out a letter to local businesses asking for donations before putting out a notice on their Facebook page to the broader community to brighten the days of essential workers.

“Many of our customers work at the Cass Family Clinic or many of these essential services,” Foster said. “They are the ones who have supported us, so it’s only right to support them.”

So far, the pair said reactions to the Pay it Forward program — both from community members and recipients — have been positive. The pair said they understand that pick-me -ps like tea bomb donations can mean a lot to essential workers as many people they know — including Foster’s husband, who is a police officer — are working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We get a lot of smiles and a lot of ‘thank-yous,’” Patzer said. “But that’s not why we did it. … We just want to do our part.”

Now, the owners of Diamond Nutrition are planning to host several more tea bomb donations to other essential businesses, such as banks, veterinary clinics and more.