TULSA, Okla. -- Patrick Henry Elementary students are getting in the holiday spirit.
After their classmate Bella Vavrinak was gifted a room makeover through "The Kindness Effect," her peers knew they could brighten other holiday seasons as well.
"You know how it feels. So if all those kids are happy like I was, then they know how it feels. And I know how it feels," Bella said.
The third grader is on her school's city council. The council started a toy drive last year, but they knew this season they could go bigger by encouraging a toy donation competition between classmates.
"It's between the girls and the boys and whoever wins they get a little party, so we're trying to see who can donate the most toys," fifth-grader Victoria Timmons said.
After the drive started in late November, students quickly rose to the challenge.
"The first day that we had done this... all these boxes were overflowing," Charlie Malone said.
Bella said her family donated as well, and giving back is something she learned from her parents.
"My dad, when he was little he didn't have a lot of money like we do now, and his parents couldn't get him a lot of toys," she said.
Next, Bella is looking forward to the second part of her Kindness Effect gift: a trip to visit her grandmother over the holidays, then a family vacation to Disneyland.
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