Members of Northport Middle School’s Community Service Club got their hands dirty at Valley Grove Beach in Northport on Nov. 4.

Nine middle school students met at the school’s main entrance and loaded supplies into a van, supplied by Youth Directions and Alternatives, or YDA – a non-profit community service organization dedicated to serving youth and their families in the Elwood, Harborfields and Northport-East Northport school districts. 
The students spent two hours walking the shoreline, picking up trash, including bottlecaps, plastic bottles, balloons and more. Additionally, they worked to winterize the beach by bundling brush and raking leaves.

“They are eager to spread sunshine everywhere they go and ensure that our shores always match our spirit,” Danielle Cardinale, one of the club’s advisors, said. 

In the past, the group has partnered with the Huntington Interfaith Homeless Initiative and Little Shelter Animal Rescue and Adoption Center to provide the local organizations with handmade blankets.

“It’s a great way for the students to give back to their community,” the club’s co-advisor, Linda Dillon said.