With less than a week and a half until most students will be back in school, summer activities are wrapping up – including Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association‘s Summer Youth Program:

The program’s participants included one dozen paid teenage interns who worked ten hours a week for the past six weeks, taking on a variety of tasks. With them in our photo is DNDA art program specialist Claire DeBenon, who says their last task of the summer was litter pickup in the area near Neighborhood House High Point on Friday afternoon, shortly before we took the picture. Claire also showed us another beautification project carried out over the summer – this mural on the Neighborhood House basketball court:

The interns got to free-style some touches:

Other work spanning DNDA’s art and environment focus included stenciling storm drains to remind people that fish are She explained, “The youth has done a lot for their community by working with kids and families to facilitate an educational, fun, and safe summer for West Seattle residents.” The interns are ages 13-17 and got a stipend for their work – for most if not all, their first experience drawing a paycheck, added DNDA’s Yeggy Michael, with whom we also spoke while there for the photo op. “This is a starting point for them,” he declared. He and Claire explained that getting into this program is “very competitive” – they had 40 applicants before narrowing it down to the dozen participants.