CHARLESTON – Peering through safety glasses, Nick, 15, moved the string trimmer in his hands over the tall, wet grass surrounding a set of gravestones Thursday at the village cemetery.

He paused to straighten out a small American flag and to brush a clump of grass away from a grave marker, before moving to another set of gravestones.

Since late April, rain or shine, Nick and three other boys who were sentenced to Mountain View Youth Development Center have spent many hours raking leaves, mowing, trimming and righting overturned grave markers in Charleston’s five cemeteries. They will continue to maintain the cemeteries throughout the summer.

Nick, Scott, 17, Dan, 16, and Alan, 17, were selected to participate in the newly created Helping Hands Program at the juvenile facility in Charleston, because they have nearly completed their rehabilitation and have begun demonstrating maturity and integrity. Their last names and their crimes were not released by development center officials.

Developed and overseen by Jeff Perkins, a facility supervisor, the Helping Hands Program is designed to give qualified residents of the detention center an opportunity to give something back to the community for their past mistakes.

“I wrote it with the idea that we teach at the center all sorts of skills, but we don’t teach the value of giving something to somebody else that we don’t even know,” Perkins said Thursday, as he worked beside his charges. As for the work in the community, Perkins said no money is involved; it’s “just a handshake and a positive contribution.”

Some of the repair work the boys did was necessary after vandalism committed by younger, local youths.

To see the destruction done by the hand of another juvenile was an eye-opening experience for Nick.

“I didn’t realize the pain I had been inflicting on other people,” he said. Donating time at the cemeteries has made him feel as if he is contributing to society and is worthy, he said.

“I’ve changed a lot,” the teenager said. He now wants a career in landscaping when his incarceration is over.

The program and the discussions the four boys share about their day’s work on their return to the juvenile facility have drawn the attention of other juveniles, according to Perkins. Other youths figure if they shape up, they too can qualify for the program and begin a fresh start.

“It sets a benchmark for other kids,” Eric Hanson, superintendent of operations of the juvenile and adult detention centers, said Thursday. “We thought it was important for kids to give something back.”

Since the boys and girls have a lot of energy and want to get outside, this program allows them to do that and show off some of their skills in a constructive way, he explained. It’s a win-win situation for the children, the facility and the community.

Besides, he said, all of the children detained will at some point be integrated back into their communities.

Charleston officials also are pleased that the program saves the town money.

“It’s one of those projects that’s been a total success,” said Terri-Lynn Hall, a Charleston selectman who also serves on the juvenile facility’s board of visitors.

“These boys have done a fantastic job,” she said, as she surveyed the groomed grounds of the village cemetery.

“It’s something to look forward to,” Dan said Thursday. The soon-to-be father said the job has given him skills and a chance to reflect on how he wants his child to be responsible.

“We really wanted it to impact them internally; we wanted it to affect their hearts, and it has,” Perkins said.