Belong & Contribute
Just being a kid
7-12
An 8-year-old girl is cleaning up her New Jersey community one piece of trash at a time
Photo and reporting by
ABC7NY (WABC-TV)
Alina Colon is 8. She noticed trash and old car parts scattered along the Raritan River in Dukes Park near her house, asked her dad for a pair of grabber sticks, and filled two bags on the first afternoon.
The parent pitched in
Her dad ordered the sticks online and showed up. When she asked when they were leaving, he didn't have an answer ready, so they just went.
Why we picked this one
She's already sold hot chocolate for the fire department and she's got a lemonade stand planned for the police this summer. The trash wasn't a special project, it was just the thing in front of her that day. That's the part worth stealing, not the fundraising, the noticing.
Walk the neighborhood. Bag in hand. No one asked. No one needs to know.
Read the full story at
ABC7NY (WABC-TV)
Where it happened:
Manville, New Jersey
There's a park near you that's just waking up from winter too, and it's got a season of trash sitting in it nobody's picked up yet. Grabber sticks are twelve dollars online.