Teens helping Shorkey Center

BEAUMONT -- High School students from across the state are planting seeds of inspiration in Southeast Texas.

Click here to see more than 50 pictures of the clean up!

They're creating a garden and giving a facelift to the Shorkey Center.

These teenagers are hard at work for a good cause.

"It's rough but at the end of the day it feels better, to help someone that's in need," Wesley Claxton.

16 year old Wesley Claxton and about a dozen volunteers are donating a few of their summer days to the Shorkey Center.

They're on a mission with the episcopal diocese. They've come from across Texas. Claxton is here from bay city.

"It makes me feel good about myself," said Claxton.

They're digging up the grass and adding soil getting it primed for a flower garden.

"Hard work definitely pays off," said Ashley Flores.

Ashley Flores is 14 and from Spring. Her favorite project was giving the pool a facelift.

"That's the artsy side of me," said Ashley Flores.

Flores' creative side came in handy when the volunteers renovated the swimming pool.

"Now, I think it looks pretty decent," said Claxton.

Claxton says the pool looked awful before they fixed it. Pictures illustrate how far they've come. The walls were plain, there were concrete pieces everywhere and dust. The room was filled with a cloud of smoke.

But now the brightly colored walls are inviting to volunteers and the children.

"Yes, very much so they're ready to swim," said Flores.

For these students who traveled from across the state of Texas, giving the Shorkey center a much needed facelift is gratifying but working with the children is an even more rewarding experience.

The volunteers planted flowers with the children, creating beauty, and memories of their time here.

"It'll be my inspiration, to drive harder and help other people," said Claxton.

The Episcopal Diocese has 90 volunteers working across Southeast Texas with other non profit organizations.