(NewsNation) — Inspired by the story of Secret Santa, a wealthy and anonymous businessman who every year gives out hundreds of $100 bills to random strangers, a group of Phoenix students initiated a similar endeavor.

Derek Brown, a fifth grade teacher, created the Secret Santa Club for his students. Without assistance from the school or district, 18 students raised nearly $9,000. The Young Secret Santas then went out into the community, changing lives one $100 bill and hug at a time.

“When given the challenge, they not only rose up, but they far surpassed anything we could ever imagine. It was truly a life-changing day,” Brown told Newsantion. “I still can’t believe — it’s absolutely incredible; kids were phenomenal.”

Carissa Cheong, a former student of Brown’s, shared the impact of this experience, highlighting the holiday joy it brought to Rosemary Hernandez.

“She’d been out of jobs for a couple of weeks. We saw her shopping with coupons are we thought oh, she’s trying to save money. We walked over to her, we introduced ourselves, and we took out the $100 bill and she started crying immediately. Since we felt that since she was so emotional about just one $100 bill, we pulled out another one,” she recalled.

Cheong added: “Being able to help someone makes me really happy because it makes their day, and they’re happy and you’re happy too. So, their joy is their gift to you,” Cheong said.

Brown said the club is about more than raising money; he wants to make an impact on his students beyond the classroom and into adulthood.

“It’s about work ethic. It’s about communication. It’s about interaction. Our kids nowadays, I see it every day with every passing year, they’re hardened. Some are broken, they’re fragile. The world has changed, attitudes have changed, and our kids aren’t kids anymore. We need to bring back compassion and empathy.”