WAVERLY - Art is a form of self-expression and communication. Service is a way to help others.

Eighth-grade art students at Waverly-Shell Rock Junior High School are learning how to combine the two. Earlier this year, art teacher Chelsie Meyer challenged her students to use their creative talents to positively affect their community. She titled the project "You-in-Society."

Her students did not disappoint in the ideas department.

"They were awesome," she said.

From painting a mural at a church in Waverly to making a collage for the fire museum to holding a recycle art show, the eighth-grade students, as a class, brainstormed to come up with group projects.

On Friday morning, several students finished up a batch of custom-designed T-shirts with a cancer awareness message. Like several other You-in-Society projects, the exercise in screen-printing served as a fundraiser. Proceeds will help support Bremer County Relay for Life.

"I think it's really neat, and I'm glad that we did it and our shirts turned out really cool," said Reba Kingsley, 13.

Several blocks away, another group of eighth-graders brightened up a basement classroom for junior high youth at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Waverly. Several girls filled in a giant sunset drawn on the wall with yellows and golds and browns while others painted stick figures in different shades in the middle. The mural also incorporated words of inspiration, like hope and believe.

"When we do our projects, we are supposed to be sending a good message to society," said Clairice Nelson, 13.

The church took a hit during the flood of 2008, and though damaged areas have come a long way, improvements are ongoing, said Paul Frantsen, director of family and youth ministries. Apparently, junior high students who attend St. Paul thought the freshly painted cream colored walls could use a little help.

"The kids have wanted to paint the walls for a long time," Frantsen said. "So this is a good start."

A $350 grant from the Waverly Community Fund helped finance the projects, Meyer said. Several projects generated revenue for art supplies in the classroom and also organizations in the community. Students generated $48 for Waverly's recycling center during a show for artwork made from reusable materials and items. A silent auction raised $97 for Cedar Valley Friends of the Family. A collage of photographs of past and current Waverly firefighters will hang in the department's museum.