A group of 20 men who will sing in a concert at a Lawrence church today will be performing with special motivation and desire in their voices.

Known as the East Hill Singers, the group is made up of inmates from the minimum security unit at the Lansing Correctional Facility.

“They want to give back to the community. They want to make a difference in their lives while they are incarcerated,” said Mary Cohen, a Kansas University graduate student from Lenexa who has worked with the singers.

The inmates, accompanied by outside volunteers, will perform at 4 p.m. today in the First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway.

The singing inmates are under the direction of prison volunteer Elvera Voth, who founded the chorus 10 years ago. The chorus is now part of the Arts in Prison Program. Inmate art also will be on sale at the church.

The singers perform a mixture of sacred and secular songs. They learn some songs in foreign languages and will sing one song in Chinese while backed by the Kansas City Chinese Music Ensemble.

“Some of the men sang before in church choirs or in school, but quite a few of them have never sung and are just looking for some type of activity to do while they are incarcerated,” said Cohen, who is conducting research on prison choirs for her doctoral dissertation.

A few former inmates who sang in the chorus have returned to the prison as volunteers to help with the group, Cohen said.

The skills and talents of the inmate singers always impresses Cohen, she said.

“There is such a thirst and hunger among them to do something positive,” she said. “It’s such a shock when they tell us that our experience with them gives them a sense of humanity.”