Elm Street Internship

Overview

In 2006, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful (KPB), the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) partnered to create an innovative college internship program project to beautify Pennsylvania neighborhoods and encourage individual stewardship by using the skills and enthusiasm of college interns.

KPB, PDC and PHS share a core belief that neighborhood art and greening projects are effective a community building tools. These projects succeed for the following reasons:

• the activities are inherently inclusive and fun
• the topics are neither non-threatening nor controversial
• results are tangible, visible and aesthetically pleasing

For 10 weeks in the summer, interns work with community organizations and residents to design and create gardens, murals, environmental education programs and mosaics as a method of building civic pride and responsibility. These energetic students use their academic skills to work with residents to develop a community vision and accomplish at least one concrete task.

In its first year, eight communities and 16 college interns participated in the program. In 2007, the program expanded to 13 communities, 32 college interns and two high school interns. During the fall of 2007 and winter of 2008, management and administration of the program transitioned from KPB to PDC.

For more information about the internship program, contact Stephanie Glecos, PDC internship program manager.