Students at Rock Bridge Elementary not only learned the value of money but more importantly, the value of giving that money away.

It's assembly day at the school, and the students wait patiently for their guest of honor. Mel West works hard for a living, but today he gets to sit back and relax.

The organization is the Columbia PET Pproject, or Personal Energy Transportation, and West started it back in 1994. Since then the project has grown to serve more than 60 countries worldwide.

A PET is a three-wheeled, hand-cranked cart that gives its rider the gift of mobility - something many people take for granted.

"The recipient overseas usually have two reactions to getting a PET. One of them is the pure joy of getting up off the ground and having mobility but the other, and it runs right alongside, is that they are amazed that someone 10,000 miles away who doesn't know them whose never see them, will never see them cares so much about them," West said.

These kids certainly care, which brings us back to the Rock Bridge gym. Every year the school raises money for a charity.

After seeing Sarah Hill's special "Mercy in Motion" about the PETs in Vietnam, Rock Bridge teacher Glenda Keith brought the idea up to her students.

"When we saw on Mercy in Motion that a child got to go to school for the first time because they had mobility we thought wonderful we would like to help that," Keith said.

And did they ever.

Achieving their goal of $250 to buy one PET took just two days.

"So we raised it to two, then from two it jumped to four as our goal," Keith said. "Then from four to six."

But the school didn't stop there.

When it is all said and done, Rock Bridge ended up with $2,500 and enough money for ten PETs

'I've never been in a room with so many wonderful children," West said.

Keith is proud of her students.

"We are just excited that we can do something for other kids across the world and they know that other kids cared about them," Keith said.

The PETs will go everywhere from Guatemala to Chad, carrying children who will get to leave their mothers arms for the first time and experience something these elementary school kids get to do everyday - learn.

"They express that rather frequently - 'why do they care about us over here?' They don't even know us and these young people don't know them. But they know them in their hearts and they're helping," West said.

The students may never get to meet or see the children they helped but they will never forget the day they put the wheels in motion for others to have chance at learning.

One first grader asked for donations instead of presents for her birthday party. She was able to raise $125.