BECKLEY - Children at a local elementary school brought in their spare change to raise money for students at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Beckley Elementary teamed up with the United Way and raised more than $1,000 for the Connecticut school.

Ms. Black's fifth grade class led the pack at $110. Teachers also donated money so they could wear denim for a week.

Donating the spare change in buckets was an idea borrowed from the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? by Carol McCloud. Teachers say it encourages kids to practice daily kindness.

"We helped somebody else by just bringing in money every day to make a big cause," fifth grader Selena Hudson told WOAY.

The school said it has plans to raise money for animals next through "Pennies for Paws."