Erica Peery does more than her day-to-day classes.

After school, the 14-year-old balances school work, friends and family with the Youth Action Team.

“Some people think we started it to just get out of classes, but I am a good student already and we do a lot for the community,” she said.

The team is comprised of East Lansing high school and middle school students who take active roles in the city through community service and event planning.

Many hope the team will form a junior East Lansing city council, similar to other communities.

“I think it is a really good idea for the students to interact with the community,” Peery said.

The team is working to become more involved in decision-making, said Kathleen Miller, youth coordinator for East Lansing Parks and Recreation Facilities Department.

“We do a lot of social activities,” she said. “It is an alternative to going out drinking or smoking.”

Another of the students’ jobs is to serve as advisers to the Hot Spot Teen Center at the Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbott Road.

The team helped decorate the area as well as furnish and add amenities that would make it popular with middle-school and high-school students.

“They are my very closest advisers on what the teen issues are,” she said.

Whether it is adding a pool table, putting in a video game system or just what type of event teens would attend, the team is Miller’s eyes and ears in the community.

Having a voice in the community is important to the younger generation, 14-year-old Ashley Thode said.

Getting a younger view on city issues could be a benefit everyone, Thode said.

“I think kids are the future and it is important to have them involved in your city,” she said.

The team gets a real good group of kids together that know what types of activities are popular with young people, Jared Wein said.

Developing more of a community role could help make East Lansing a good base for younger students to have a voice, the 15-year-old said.

“I think we could affect the opinions of youth in the city,” he said

Involving the younger generations seems to be a possibility with city officials.

Having a Junior City Council might make a good advisory board, Councilmember Beverly Baten said.

The team itself has gotten high praises for all the work it has done, she said.

“I would like to see them do some more multi-generational activities,” she said. “I think we have some good possibilities there.”

Councilmember Bill Sharp has been impressed with the work the team has done and he said he would support the idea of a junior city council.

Some of the projects the students have worked on have caught the eye of many in the community, he said.

“They seem to be movers and shakers,” he said. “I know they have done it in Lansing and I think it has some good ideas.”