Youth lent a helping hand to clean up parks and cover up graffiti in parts of Woodside last week.
The kids are participating in a five week community service program that is part of the city’s Summer of Service initiative sponsored by the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD).
Led by Woodside On the Move (WOTM), a grassroots organization that aims to improve the neighborhood, the 120 kids involved in the program went to do work in Woodside Memorial Park, Shoncke Park and the Steinman Triangle.
They went around to businesses in the area and told them they wanted to remove the graffiti that marred their buildings, said Lavern Mason-Howard, director of business, community and cultural services for the organization.
On July 27, the kids began their clean up and went to those businesses to paint over the graffiti.
“They saw like one line of graffiti – they were there to try to clean it up and make it look better,” Mason-Howard said.
With a grant from the Neuberger Berman Foundation, WOTM and 15 other community organizations in the city will be able to organize community improvement projects involving thousands of children and residents. The foundation sponsors these projects through the city’s Summer of Service initiative.
“We strongly believe in the value of community service and are so proud to be able to support the efforts of the thousands of youth and community members engaged in these programs,” said Elizabeth Rabii Cribbs, treasurer of the foundation in a release from the DYCD.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg began the NYC Service initiative in response to President Barack Obama’s call for more community service in neighborhoods across the country. The program aims to get residents more involved in their communities by promoting service opportunities.
This is the third year that residents and youth have taken part in the initiative.
