TORONTO - A Toronto Catholic school board initiative has kids off their couches and away from their computers this summer and has them scrubbing walls, planting flowers and helping out those who need it.

It’s called the Summer Community Service Hours Program — a simple title for a program that’s affect has been anything but.

Anna Paolitto-Primiani from Monsignor Fraser Alternative Secondary School and Linton Soares from Neil McNeil High School are the two teachers in charge. Both have experience helping high school students finish their mandatory 40 service hours before graduation.

This year, Paolitto-Primiani became aware of how many graduating students were getting stuck on their service hour requirements.

“What they do, they stay in their school and ask their teacher, ‘can I help you do this,’ ‘can I stay after school to do that,’ ” she said. “There’s so much more. There are non-profit organizations out there that need another pair of hands or eyes, energy, smiles.”

So the board, Soares and Paolitto-Primiani put together a summer program for these kids to head out to different places around the city to roll up their sleeves and really help. Half of the 30 students that came out weekly spent their days at either the Good Shepherd Centre, an overnight shelter, or the Good Neighbour, a day shelter for homeless people in downtown Toronto. The other half rotated between several organizations including the humane society, a food bank, seniors homes and shelters and transitional homes.

Originally the program was just open to students who needed their 40 service hours, such as Martha Sanusi, from Father Henry Carr Secondary School. She came out to volunteer at the Good Shepherd homeless shelter to complete her hours so she could graduate by January. But in reality, Sanusi has gained so much more.

“I like the opportunity to give a helping hand to the needy,” Sanusi said. “The Lord said do unto others how you want me to do unto you, so I’m living up to that expectation of the Lord.

“It’s also giving me a chance to work with other teens.”

And those other teens are no longer necessarily trying to graduate as soon as possible. Soares and Paolitto-Primiani opened up the program to younger high school students who wanted to get a head start on their hours or just do something productive this summer.

Chelsea Oosthuizen, a Grade 10 student from Notre Dame High School, was in the rotation group. Though many students only stayed for one week, Oosthuizen participated all four weeks, with a goal of getting 100 hours by the time it came to an end.

But in the beginning, she didn’t even want to come out.

“My summer school got cancelled so my mom (told me) I had to do something,” Oosthuizen said. “I started not knowing or believing that I would enjoy this program (but) honestly it’s changed so much.

“As Canadians and as Christians and Catholics we all… have to get out in the community. You always have a purpose to give.”

It’s a sentiment reflected by Aaron Benwic, a Grade 10 student from Marshall McLuhan Secondary School, who wants to continue to volunteer throughout the summer.

“This whole program has been a really great opportunity to … give back to the community,” Benwic said. “I realized that there is, in fact, a need in downtown Toronto.”

Soares and Paolitto-Primiani hope the program can continue next summer.

“It’s a new program, so it’s going to be trial and error,” Paolitto-Primiani said. “But it’s gone really well.”

“The students have loved it,” Soares added. “This was a perfect way for a lot of students to get their foot in the door (to volunteer opportunities).”