Chicago youth celebrate summer accomplishments

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Thousands of kids across Chicago celebrated their accomplishments Friday in Chicago's Summer Youth Work Program.

Under One Summer Chicago, over 30,000 jobs and internships were offered to youth this summer.

Every year the program offers jobs from urban agriculture to clerical work to cleaning up the city.

"These kids get a paycheck, that can be good enough, they get it with a purpose because they learn a skill, they learn a value and they learn and opportunity," said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "They've discovered something about themselves."

This past summer, Chicago youth painted five murals, collected more than 9,000 bags of trash and cleaned nearly 800 lots across the city.