For the past month, a group of Grade 5 and 6 students at École Dorothy Lynas Elementary in North Vancouver, B.C., have been collecting community donations for youth experiencing homelessness. (Marta Orellana)

​Note: You can also hear an interview with the students about this endeavour from a segment on BBC Radio 4.

By Janella Hamilton, CBC News.

Ten-year-olds Nathan Stone and Annalise Breakey look proudly at a pile of gifts stacked high. Each package is filled with donated toiletries, pyjamas, socks and toques. 

They are part of a group of Grade 5 and 6 students from North Vancouver's École Dorothy Lynas Elementary who have been canvassing and collecting donations from local businesses over the past month to go to homeless teens staying at North Shore Youth Safe House.

The safe house is a short-term shelter program that provides a safe space and helps connect vulnerable young people in North Vancouver with vital services. 

Stone says it felt good to help kids in need who are not much older than him.

"It just pulled my heartstrings and that made me want to donate," he told CBC News. "So I just did and the whole class pulled together to make something awesome."

Steve Kirkby, youth services director at Hollyburn Community Services Society, which operates the safe house, said the need is higher than ever after other shelters in the area were forced to close due to financial constraints. Donations are down this year, he added. 

"The fact that these students made the effort they did, to have something for the youth to open on Christmas morning, it means a lot," Kirkby said.

Fifteen gift boxes filled with toiletries, toques, gloves and other essential items will be going to homeless youth at the North Shore Youth Safe House. (Marta Orellana)

The students' teacher Marta Orellana said this is the second year her class has donated to the safe house. She says she was blown away by the community's altruism amid growing inflation and an affordability crisis.

"We collected over $1,200 in gift cards for grocery stores and donations for the shelter itself," Orellana said.

"On top of that, 15 teens received their own box, which is a large wrapped gift with necessities." 

'Tears of joy'

Orellana says she aims to teach students about kindness, empathy and giving back to others.

This year, her students have also made and donated treats to the Burnaby SPCA and delivered cards and puzzles to seniors at Berkley Care Centre in North Vancouver. 

"I want them to learn that, you know, as a community, we have to take care of each other," Orellana said.

École Dorothy Lynas Elementary students with teacher Marta Orellana. She says she aims to teach students about kindness, empathy and giving back to others. (Marta Orellana)

Annalise Breakey said she's learned that even the little things can make a big difference. 

"I feel really sad that they don't have what we have, and the privileges that we have they don't have," she said. 

The class donation is one of the largest the safe house has ever received, according to Kirkby.

As for Stone, he said seeing Kirkby take the donations to the safe house "pretty much made me cry tears of joy."