CHARLOTTE -- More than 1,000 students at Hidden Valley Elementary received Christmas gifts on Wednesday.
Students from Olympic High and Southwest Middle School organized Operation Santa Claus this year to make the holidays a bit brighter for kids who may not get the full experience at home.
Jennie Morris, who organized the program since 2006, says it's nice to see not only the reaction of kids receiving the gifts, but also the students giving them.
"To see the looks on their faces when they hand a kid a present and see how excited they are, for some of them it's the first time in their life to feel how good it feels to do something for other people,” said Morris.
Hidden Valley Elementary is one of the poorest schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County.