It's not often you see teenagers bouncing around 9:00 a.m., especially during Spring Break. That's right Spring Break. Instead of sleeping in, they're on a mission to serve.
Abbey Cowan said, "This is a huge thing to be a part of and I just pull away with, I did something useful and helped the people in my backyard that need it."
Cowan is just one of the 300 plus middle and high school students interacting in the community.
The teenagers are from churches in Fresno and Roseville and are part of an alternate Spring Break called Breakaway.
By night the students eat and sleep at people's church and by day they are out serving the community in a variety of projects from putting on events to manual labor.
At Adventure Church, students removed and replaced the wheelchair ramp and the patio. They also filled plastic eggs full of goodies for children. But no matter how big or small the effort was, students say they enjoy interacting with the community and seeing smiles on the faces of others.
"It really puts the heart of service in them and that really stays in them," said Celeste Camacho. "I did breakaway when I was in high school and here I am still wanting to do it and serve the community."
Those involved say at the end of the event, they'll take away some powerful lessons about themselves and the world in which we live in.
Matt Markarian with People's Church said, "It says the future is bright with our young people. Sometimes teenagers get a bad rap, they're just playing video games and sleeping in and we've proven that's not necessarily the case. We have a lot of kids doing a lot of great things in this community."
