Brooklyn Youngsters’ Artwork Featured In 2017 Police Athletic League Calendar

Artwork by two Brooklyn children, Nasir Muhamed and Lisbeth De Los Santos, is featured in the 2017 Police Athletic League Calendar. PAL summer day campers studied the Indigenous Peoples of the world and explored the history, culture, sports, food, holidays, festivals, customs and languages of each Indigenous People through a fun-filled, interactive learning curriculum. The artwork is featured in the 2017 PAL Calendar, which showcases the work of children from PAL centers across the five boroughs.

One young artist, Nasir, age 12, comes from PAL’s Wynn Center at 495 Gates Ave. His drawing featured for the month of April depicts the Pygmies of Central Africa, who live in several ethnic groups and have a partially hunter-gatherers lifestyle. Many of the Pygmies population live in the Congo rainforest. One student from PAL’s IS 218 Beacon, Lisbeth De Los Santos, age 13, located at 370 Fountain Ave. had her artwork showcased in PAL’s 2017 calendar as well. Her drawing featured for the month of September illustrates the Ifugao of the Philippines. The Ifugao, which means “earth people,” come from a province in the northern part of Luzon. They live in triangular houses elevated by wooden posts, speak four distinct dialects, and are known for their rich oral literary traditions.

PAL’s Executive Director, Frederick Watts, said, “I see first-hand the great work our staff does with inner-city kids in need. We offer a safe, nurturing environment where children can grow, play, learn, and be inspired to great success. Their hard work and creativity was instrumental in producing our beautiful calendar.”

New York City’s Police Athletic League is the first and finest civilian-run PAL in the country. Founded in 1914, PAL has served the city’s young people for over 100 years. PAL provides recreational, educational, cultural and social activities to 35,000 boys and girls annually. It is also the city’s largest, independent, nonprofit youth organization. For more information, please visit www.palnyc.org.