ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Orlando Police program that teaches young people to give back to the community and stay out of trouble, kicked off Saturday morning as volunteers from the police and local business organizations, including Channel 9, helped paint and fix up three homes in the city's low income neighborhoods.

The OPD program has the backing of WFTV and Oprah Winfrey's Big Give.

All three homes belong to elderly residents who had not had their homes repaired or painted in years.

It was all part of Operation Positive Direction, which mentors young people and and tries to show them the rewards of helping others, and avoid getting into trouble.

Orlando Police Chief Val Demings showed up at all three homes to give encouragement to the kids and volunteers, and to help with some of the painting.

Using seed money provided by Oprah's Big Give and the business sponsors, the OPD effort has raised more than $100,000.