WORCESTER, Mass. — A Worcester organization dedicated to cleaning the streets and beautifying the city held an end of the summer celebration Friday.

This was the third Worcester Green Corps Summer Cohort to do work in the city. 

Twenty-three youth workers employed by the Worcester Community Action Council’s YouthWorks program picked up more than 2,000 pounds of litter, and worked on five beautification projects this summer. 

Participants of the program say they enjoyed the work they did for the city this summer. 

“This season went good, we picked up a lot of trash, helped out the community a lot,” said Jonneth Sanchez. 

“It went well, this was our first year working with Green Corps, and I can say it was really fun,” said Eli Rivera. “You meet a lot of new people, and you just have fun throughout the summer and help the community.”

In one of the beautification projects, the teens painted a mural on the side of the AT&T building in Downtown Worcester. The mural captures the essence of Worcester Green Corps’ mission and its youth. 

“I feel relieved that it’s done, it was kind of a tough journey,” said Jennessa Burks, the artist. “The lift, the ladders, it was a tall wall. The texture of the wall was kind of crazy, but we managed to pull through and complete it.”

The Worcester Green Corps is a partner program of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Worcester Community Action Council and United Way of Central Massachusetts. 

Program Coordinator Miranda Hotham said she’s proud of their hard work, and how the community is noticing their accomplishments. 

“I think it all speaks for itself when people in the community come up to me and say that they’ve seen my team out in the streets doing their work and people are commenting on social media saying, ‘thank you so much,’” Hotham said. “It’s really rewarding to see that.”