Sophomore Jessica Brandt of Pioneer High School and Allen Munoz, a senior from Leland High School, are both participating in the City Heroes program through City Year, a six-month community service program in San Jose.

Both kicked off their service last month by beautifying local schools in the pouring rain.

Jessica and Allen's groups were assigned to distribute mulch on the campuses.

"It was fun, but it was a lot of work, too, especially because of the pouring rain," Jessica said. "My jacket and boots were soaked all the way through, and my jacket is brown instead of white now, but we got the enormous pile of mulch down to a small pile. I didn't think we'd ever get through it."

Her group leader and City Year member Nisha Mehling said the Jan. 14 service day was a rain-or-shine event.

"It started out not raining too badly, but by middle of day it was pretty muddy," Mehling said. "Everyone still kept on doing it; I was surprised I didn't hear any complaints from any kids. They just put on their hoods and got to work."

Nate Kerr, Allen's group leader, echoed that the students worked hard despite the rain.

"It was a good time; people stayed pretty positive," Kerr said. "It was a good atmosphere, working through the rain."

Allen said his group didn't let the rain dampen their spirits.

"It wasn't the first time and it won't be the last it rained on a service day, but it makes it really fun," he said. "We were out there working with teammates, and it gives a little extra push and makes us think, 'The weather's bad, but we still have to do this, and we've got to keep the spirit up."

After getting soaked to the bones, these two Almaden students joined more than 200 other high school and middle school students from all over San Jose in a pledge to be the difference they wish for in their community. The kick-off coincided with Martin Luther King Jr. activities the weekend before his birthday.

The middle school students participate in the Young Heroes program, which involves them in community service three weekends per month.

The City Heroes program is designed for high school students. The program engages them in various community service projects and retreats throughout the six-month session. Once a month the students attend an overnight retreat at the Boys and Girls Club on Cunningham Avenue. At the retreats, the City Year group leaders get the students thinking about social issues and problems present in their communities.

Next on their service list, the two are scheduled to participate in a hands-on community service project related to the topics discussed at the retreat.

Jessica said the lessons from the last retreat had the students thinking about illegal immigration and health care.

"We think about stuff we never really considered before," she said. "It's interesting because kids don't really think about that kind of stuff; it usually goes over our heads. But we talk about things that are going on around us that maybe we would not have noticed otherwise."

She joined the program as a way to fulfill the community service requirement at Pioneer High School. She said she didn't realize the time commitment at the time but enjoys being part of the program.

Allen joined the program nearly seven years ago after some encouragement from his mom. He said he has stayed with the program because of the people he has met and the service he has provided for the community.

"You meet people from across the country, other individuals you wouldn't come across otherwise," he said. "It's an accepting program. You can be yourself there, so you get to help the community while enjoying yourself."

The San Jose Unified School District requires high school students to complete 40 hours of community service during their four years.

Allen said he volunteers for approximately 100 hours per year with City Year's program.