A group of young men who set out to raise money for the needy have now spent more than a year putting their words to action.

D’Mori Harvey, Danté Sousa, Sivaja Perinchief and Zeshawn Williams, who last year made a series of charitable donations through their Help Reduce Poverty in Paradise campaign have now become regular volunteers for the Eliza DoLittle Society.

Sivaja said: “After we finished with our project, most of the groups we donated money to asked us if we could spend some time helping out at their food pantries.

“Eliza DoLittle was the one that we chose and we have been with them for the last year going every third Saturday of the month. It has been a positive experience.

“It has given me more courage to do stuff and it makes me feel like I’m helping to make things better. And I like that feeling.”

Zeshawn said that the group had spent much of its time with the charity preparing hampers for a growing number of needy families.

D’Mori said a highlight of the experience had been the gratitude they had received from the charity’s clients.

Danté added: “It has been fun getting to meet a different crowd of people. It’s a diverse group and it feels nice to give back to the community.”

The 15-year-olds said they had received a positive response from Eliza DoLlittle’s clients and their peers.

Sivaja said: “Most of our peers are surprised that we do things like this. They see us differently than how we are outside of school or just playing around. It shows more about our personality than what we show from the outside.”

Danté urged other young people to get involved with charities. “It’s not just helping the community, it’s helping yourself. Community service helps you become a better person at the end of the day,” he said.

“This experience really opened up my horizons and I feel like a better person.”

Deneca Zuill, the interim community team lead for Family Centre, praised the teenagers for their continued commitment to helping vulnerable Bermudians.

“For young people, getting up early on a Saturday and doing community service can be a bit of a drag, but on that day every month they are up, they are excited, they are ready,” she said.