High school students from around Texas are giving back to their community by volunteering to repair homes over summer.

The groups are part of the United Methodist Church Action Reach-Out Mission, known as the U.M. Army.

They’ve been in East Texas since the middle of June, and are offering their services to residents who are in need.

“It’s just something I can do because I can’t always spend money or donate money,” said Coby Balli, a high school senior, “but I can spend my time and my hard labor to help people.”

The projects range anywhere from paint touch-ups to yard work and even small construction projects.

Several members of the group said their favorite projects are usually building wheelchair ramps.

“It helps them to be more mobile and have a better quality of life,” Sydney Reagan, one of the team leaders, said. “Otherwise they may not be able to have these projects done at all and then we get to meet them and talk to them. It’s just a relational and a service kind of thing.”

The projects are all done for free, paid for by the summer fees the students give when they sign up for the summer program.

The group just finished up their Longview projects and are in Kilgore before they head out to Henderson on July 14th.