BALTIMORE — With a few thousand brush strokes, kids with YouthWorks were able to fill a once brick wall with a bright outlook on the future.
The mural helped them learn valuable life skills.
"I learned a lot about planning better, cause we had to plan a lot for that mural I learned also that teamwork is very important, whenever we work together we get a lot done," said Habtu Habtu.
YouthWorks has been helping people from age 14 to 21 gain valuable work experience for five decades.
For a lot of these young kids, it's the first time they've had a job and a paycheck leading to valuable lessons about budgeting.
"I made my money and my mother said she's not buying me anything anymore so my paycheck is about to be gone," said Krishtian Mcleod.
"It felt great, I haven't spent the money yet, I just got it last week so I'm just taking my time," said Habtu.
The mural even led to some competition between the two 14-year-old painters.
"I feel like, I'm the best artist here," said Mcleod.
"I would disagree, I feel like I'm the best artist here even better than our director," said Habtu.
The mural was unveiled with the help of Mayor Brandon Scott, a YouthWorks alum himself.
"As I look back on five decades of services to Baltimore's youth through this program, I want to think about the countless lives that have been changed or even saved by this program," said Scott.
The kids participating in the program feel it's a great opportunity for anyone to join.
"You get paid but it's also like a learning experience, it's more like an experience for you to meet people it's not just a job," said Mcleod.
The program works in five week intervals during the summer.
This year it helped nearly 8,000 kids.
