(CBS) – It’s the season of giving, but some acts of kindness this year are a bit different.

CBS 2’s Marissa Bailey explains how some area residents are observing a new movement to “pay it forward” following the Newtown, Conn. shooting.

The movement goes under the title “#26Acts” and refers to the 26 people killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The concept?  Do 26 random acts of kindness for people, strangers, whomever.

Chicago native Jean Maday decided to hand out her famous chocolate-dipped pretzels, each bag with a name of a Sandy Hook victim.

“This is really my therapy. This is one way in which I am able to work out some of my emotions,” she says.

Throughout her journey, Jean gave smiles to a cab driver and her doorman.

And she’s not the only one.

The concept has gone viral on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Paying for a layaway, writing a check for someone who needs extra money, baking cookies for postal workers — little acts that make a big difference.

“Doing something small for somebody else can be tremendous, and in doing so it’s really partly doing it for yourself,” Maday says.

Maday is originally from the town next door to Newtown. She’s there celebrating Christmas with her family.

She says she plans to finish her 26 acts on Christmas Day.