By Victoria Dolan

Alanna Lipsky’s third annual beach cleanup will take place on Sunday, May 7, drawing the support and efforts of out-of-town visitors and locals alike to give back to the community.

Alanna, a high school freshman who attends school in Mansfield but frequently visits Hull, originally organized the cleanup in 2021 as part of her bat mitzvah project. However, she decided to continue the event because she “really enjoyed doing it and realized how much this little thing can help the beach,” she said.

Alanna has always loved the beach and the ocean, and cares deeply about the environmental impact that humans have on the ecosystem.

“Trash on the beach is so bad for the ocean and the animals in the ocean,” she explained, so leading efforts to clean up Hull sands helps her “feel like I’m helping the community a little bit.”
The past two years Alanna organized the event, turnout was “pretty good,” especially because “a lot of my family and friends will come out” to help support her efforts and clean the beaches.
Anybody who wants to help can join from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on May 7, and can “go off and do it by themselves or with others.” When they’re done, participators can leave their bags of trash on the soft sand of the private beach entrances, where it will be picked up and disposed of by Chris Emanuello of E-Scrap and Star Waste Systems.

“Both are donating their time for Alanna’s cause,” explained Alanna’s mother, Dayle Lipsky.
Now a freshman in high school, Alanna thinks organizing the cleanup has “really helped me grow as a person” because “it gives me a lot of responsibility… and a sense of community.”
“She’s grown tremendously, she’s taken on accountability,” her mother agreed.

Alanna’s taken on more responsibility in other areas, too; she helps out at her dance studio teaching younger kids to dance.
What makes her so community-minded?

“I think it just comes from wanting to help a lot,” she explained, “and wanting to do whatever I can to help people.”
Participating has also helped Alanna realize how much of an impact she can have on her local community by bettering the environment.

“Every little person that does it still helps a lot,” she said. “A lot of people don’t realize how much just picking up a piece of trash off the beach can help.”
Alanna hopes that more people than ever will come out to help with the cleanup. After all, when it comes to helping the environment, “any help is good help.”