HALIFAX -- In a time when many workers in Nova Scotia’s service industry are struggling financially due to the province’s latest lockdown, one Halifax woman is paying it forward thanks to the support from her community.

Inspired by a viral TikTok challenge, Sarah Dobson created ‘HaliFunds’ as a way to give back to front-line workers in her community.

“I had been seeing this TikTok trend called ‘The Venmo Challenge’, where in different cities across the world, people would open a Venmo account and ask people to send them just a dollar or two dollars, something they might have thrown in a tip jar. I thought it was a good idea to start it here because there are so many people who are out of work or working through this really scary time,” explains Dobson.

While Venmo isn’t available in Canada, Dobson has launched a GoFundMe page with the goal of raising $5,000.

“The goal is $5,000 so we’re on track to hit that, and that would equal 10, $500 tips that I’m able to give out to different people,” explained Dobson. “It’s just kind of a way to do something positive right now and to tell people we do care and we do see their struggles.”

Not only did HaliFunds meet it’s $5,000 goal, it surpassed it, with $6,740 raised as of Tuesday evening.

“It’s so nice to see people step up to support one another, I think that’s something beautiful that’s come out in this whole lockdown time,” says Alex Stephen, owner of Apartment 3 Espresso Bar in Lower Sackville, N.S. “There’s not as many people dining in, and when the volume of people is down, servers don’t get to generate the tips that they usually rely on for support. We’re really thankful for those who have come through and made a point to give a little bit extra.”

So Dobson hit the road to drop off an unexpected, but much deserved stimulus.

The first recipient of $500 was a cook at Halifax’s Side Hustle Snack Bar.

“This is amazing, this is such a big help, I’m a struggling single mom and things are tough right now so this is amazing. This is such a crazy thing to do, such a nice thing to do,” said the cook.

In the second video Sarah donated $500 to an Atlantic Superstore employee.

“I got many, many messages saying grocery store workers are the unsung heroes of this pandemic, so we are going to a grocery store,” explained Dobson.

“Oh my goodness, thank you so much, I never would have expected this. I was expecting something kind of gross because I always clean up messes,” laughed the worker upon receiving the $500.

If you’d like to follow Sarah and HaliFunds, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram