YouthBuild Philadelphia’s Youth Foundation led three environmentally friendly service projects in honor of Global Youth Service Day on April 23, 2010.  More than 200 students and staff joined local community partners for beautification projects, including:

• Revitalization of Francisville: In partnership with Francisville NDC, YouthBuild students donated and planted grape vines in a garden, and planted trees along the streets of Francisville.  Students learned urban gardening techniques from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Tree Tenders.
• Park clean-up with HACE CDC: YouthBuild students mulched trees and cleaned an area in the North Fifth Street neighborhood of Latino businesses and cultural institutions.
• Gardening at the Village of Arts and Humanities: YouthBuild students planted donated fruit trees, vegetable plants, and flowers.  See ABC6 Action News coverage of the project in action.

Youth Foundation is a new student organization responsible for planning service projects and allocating the school’s resources to support the community.  This year, the group focused its efforts on Global Youth Service Day, which is celebrated in over 100 countries as the largest service event in the world.

To see more photos of the events, visit Flickr or our Facebook page.

Students Brittany Fowler and Shakila Alexander are joined by teachers Dena Rosen and Barbara Shubin in clean-up efforts

Student Jesse Liverpool digs out a hole to plant a tree in Francisville

Full-time AmeriCorps member Yattah Blanton and student Malisa Crawford prepare to plant flowers at the Village of Arts and Humanities