Teenagers changing the world 1 house at a time in Southeast Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- About 160 teenagers from around the country are in Downtown Fresno, getting ready to be World Changers. The teens will spend this week doing construction work on 13 rundown homes in Southeast Fresno.

The kids all split off into their groups after arriving at the Rescue Mission. The teens and adult staff members are all volunteers from churches -- mostly in California -- but some are from as far away as Georgia. This is how they are all choosing to spend their summer vacation. Like last year, they will spend time on work ranging from painting to repairing leaks.

One group from Bakersfield is back in Fresno again this year simply because of the connections they made repairing homes, community centers and businesses last summer.

"For me, it's because this is close to my home. This is close to where I live. This is kind of like the same neighborhood that I've always lived in," said Megan Dixon of Bakersfield.

"That moment is more fulfilling for the participants when the homeowner sees it, than for them to look at the home and see what they've done. They care way more about the homeowners and the community than just their hard labor," said Schylar Habowski with World Changers.

All of these World Changers all specifically chose Fresno among the dozens of other cities across the country to do their mission work. They will begin construction on the 13 Southeast Fresno projects Tuesday beginning at 7 a.m., and they will be working until Friday.