Nine-year-old Ava Occhiogrosso shook her head as she surveyed the collection of cigarette butts littering the riverfront parking lot Sunday morning. “Why would anyone do this?”
The riverfront was just one of three locations her group, the Riverhead Recreation Department’s Youth Planning Board, stopped to clean yesterday, along with Iron Pier Beach and Veterans Park.
Ava is the chair of the planning board, which formed earlier this year to give kids a way to get involved in the town.
When Liz Flood, the recreation department’s community relations specialist, first organized the group, she said expected the kids to want to plan more traditional “fun” events. But the students surprised her by wanting to jump right into community service.
“It’s all for them, they run it. Animals and the environment, that’s apparently like, their thing.”
That couldn’t be more true for Ava. “I always like thinking about the problems on our earth, like there’s too much trash. I figured, we’re here, we’re planning events — why not do something about that?”
Ava was inspired to get involved in the planning board by her love of her community. “Me and my mom, any event in town that we heard of, usually, we’d be there. So now I like planning events for people to do, but I like to make sure that people are having fun.”
And what could be more fitting for the group’s first event than an Earth Day cleanup featuring a lunch-time pizza party?
Flood says it’s only the first of many events the kids have brainstormed together. There are currently plans in the works for a Mother’s Day ice cream social, a community yard sale and a kids day at the park.
“They have so many big ideas,” she said. “Not everyone is into sports, not everyone is a gamer. Everyone has to find their niche, and for these kids, this is it. Working together is something that kids have to learn and practice, and this gives them that opportunity.”
Flood said there are six “core” members who attend every meeting, though they are hoping to expand as more people hear about their cause. The clean-up day drew 10 volunteers, ranging from five-year-old Jayla Lee to 13-year-old Logann Carey.
“It’s a community service club, a think tank for kids to come up with stuff themselves,” Flood said. “We spent a couple of meetings talking about our goals. We held elections, made a mission statement — I wanted them to get a taste in local government.”
She said the group is planning a visit to the Riverhead Town Board next month to observe an actual government meeting.
Flood sees herself as an “facilitator” to the students.
“I’m not there to say ‘no’ to anything, I just make suggestions and guide them. There’s no cutting off or shutting down. The ideas are all theirs,” Flood said. “The more hands off I can be, the happier I am.
“People always say ‘there’s nothing to do for kids here.’ So I figured if we could have a kid focus group, it would go a long way.”
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.