She Never Expected Her Son's Good Deed to Go Viral, But It's Captivated the Nation

Tiffany Eckert never expected her 8-year-old son's good deed to land him on national television. She was surprised when she learned CBS wanted to spotlight it on their evening news. She is now stunned that the story has gone viral and captivated the nation.

That's because the simple good deed her son Myles performed is not out of the ordinary for her family, Eckert told TheBlaze Monday.

[sharequote align="center"]"This is actually something that we do on a regular basis."[/sharequote]

"This is actually something that we do on a regular basis," she said. "We pay it forward often. This story just happened to take off."

Tiffany Eckert says her family routinely pays it forward. (Image source: CBS News)

Earlier this month, Myles found a $20 bill laying in an Ohio Cracker Barrel parking lot. Instead of pocketing the money, the 8-year-old wrote a heartfelt note to a solider he spotted entering the restaurant.

“Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now,” the note said. “I found this 20 dollars in the parking lot when we got here. We like to pay it forward in my family. It’s your lucky day! Thank you for your service. Myles Eckert, a gold star kid.”

[sharequote align="center"]“Dear Soldier — my dad was a soldier. He’s in heaven now."[/sharequote]

Eckert, a mother of three, said the note got posted online and spread organically.

"It was posted on social media and I think it was a word-of-mouth thing," she told TheBlaze. "And then Steve Hartman is from Toledo and I'm not sure how he heard it, but maybe his family told him."

Hartman anchors the popular "On the Road" segment for CBS Evening News and put together a story that aired Friday. Over the weekend, Myles' story went viral, morphing the 8-year-old into a local celebrity.

"Yesterday, after church we went to Five Guys and we walked in and there were some soldiers from the 180th and we went over there to say thank you for your service," Eckert said. "They all knew who Myles was. And while we were there it was like every single person who was there knew who Myles was and they were coming up to him in tears and giving him $20 and wanting pictures with him."

Myles Eckert has morphed into a local celebrity after a note he wrote to a soldier went viral over the weekend. (Image source: CBS News)

Eckert said that she told individuals who insisted on giving Myles money that her family would be paying it forward and donating it to a charity aimed at benefiting gold star children.

"It's just what we do," she said. "It's just part of life for us. We pay it forward."

[sharequote align="center"]"Kindness always win. That's something I've been teaching our kids forever."[/sharequote]

"Kindness always wins," Eckert continued. "That's something I've been teaching our kids forever."

And she's certainly humbled by the attention her family is receiving, she wants everyone to know that it's something they often do.

"I couldn't be more proud," she said. "But this is our normal life."

Nevertheless, the story touched millions of people throughout the world. TheBlaze's first story on the act of kindness became the most popular story in the history of the site, achieving nearly four million page views in the first day it was posted.

Watch a remarkable interview with Tiffany Eckert from Monday's BlazeCast:

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