DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - As a security guard at Stephen Decatur Middle School, Shemuel Sanders' role as protector goes beyond the school perimeters.

To Sanders, the children are more than just students, they're his children. He said he would protect them. 

After losing his daughter, Shemilah to gun violence, Sanders does not want another family to experience his kind of loss. 

"I want to make sure these youth are safe," Sanders said. "I want to make sure I do everything in my power to give them an opportunity to make a difference." 

Starting Monday, 25 young men will give back to their neighborhoods through community service. Services include picking up trash, mowing lawns and teaching them life skills. Pastor Rod, another youth advocate, said it is about teaching kids skills that could help them in their future. 

"We need everyone on board!" Wilson chanted. 

Sanders wants someone from the community to sponsor a young man during their four-week-work program. Each kid would get paid $100 a week. That is four weeks of giving them something to do while instilling a work ethic.

The middle school security guard described the 25 participants as "the future" and challenged the community to invest in them. 

"I won't see her [Sanders' daughter] no more," Sanders said. "But I want her name to live on through him, and him and him." 

The work program is off to a positive start. One business donated six lawn mowers and a few leaf blowers. Another business donated $1,000 to the cause.Â