[Texas Episcopalian] Over 140 students from the Episcopal High School (EHS) in Houston, Texas, spend two weeks of their final spring semester taking part in community outreach programmes. With each student volunteering about 6 hours a day, that's nearly 8,500 hours across the two weeks.

The students, sent out two by two, participate in a wide range of projects, including teaching children, insulating homes, dancing with patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, talking to teenage mothers and stocking food pantries.

"This is an emersion experience," says the Director of Outreach for EHS, Scott Poteet. "We ask students to put their lives aside and take up the role of servant. They are exposed to social issues and problems in the community, and learn that they can be part of the solution."

Following the two weeks of service in the community, the students return to school to discuss their placements.

"It's a thrill to see something I love so much help others," said one volunteer, who was involved in a project to help adults with mental handicaps learn to ride horses. "Just 15 minutes on a horse, something I take for granted, can make these people's week!"

The volunteers share their experiences with the entire student body at EHS during a special service in the chapel which includes slides of them in action.

"This is service in the context of faith," explains Scott Poteet. "It is understanding work as a sacrament and, while our seniors gain a greater sense of maturity and self-understanding, it provides something our whole community can celebrate."