Beach Cleanup Honoring 2 Young Lives Struck By Tragedy Draws Crowd

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY — A beach cleanup fundraiser, created to honor two young people struck by tragedy in Westhampton Beach, has blossomed with love.

This year, the 3rd Annual Inlet2Inlet cleanup event was held on the Great Lawn in Westhampton Beach on Columbus Day. The event, presented by Live Your Cor, Dana Barrett Strong, and Relic, a T-shirt company that donates to many local efforts, sent out teams of volunteers to clean up the ocean beaches from Moriches to Shinnecock inlets.

The event, said Ralph Hubbard, Cory Hubbard's father, was a "huge success. Thank you to everyone who participated. The weather was perfect. The music was great! The beaches are cleaner and everyone had a great time! As always the community stepped up and created a great day. Dana Barrett Strong and Live Your Cor thrive because of you."

The teams' trash was brought to the Great Lawn and winners were determined by the weight of their collected debris. Team Jack and the Beans came back with lots of garbage from the Road K area, including a couch.

It has been eight years since Westhampton Beach High School graduate Cory Hubbard, just 22, died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver while away at college, and three years since Dana Barrett, 29, of East Quogue was paralyzed following a pool accident. But for family and friends, neighbors and a loving community who watched the two shine at school and at all they pursued, the tragedies are just a heartbeat away.

And in the years since, the event has been organized meant to honor Cory and help Dana, who lives at New Beginnings, a community center for traumatic brain injury, and needs financial assistance.

Ralph and Holly Hubbard, Cory's parents, have created the "Live Your Cor" foundation, raising funds to help community members in need.

The Inlet 2 Inlet event also included a fall fair, with food and beverage trucks, local vendors, live music, pony rides, and kids' games and activities on the Great Lawn.

"The Live Your Cor Foundation was created in memory of outstanding young athlete and Westhampton Beach local, Cory Hubbard. Cory was killed by a hit-and-run driver while crossing the street," organizers said. "'Live Your Cor' means to live your heart and to spread love and respect wherever you go, the way that Cory lived his life. The goal of the foundation is to 'pay it forward" by providing financial assistance to families who have suffered adversity or a personal hardship."

Also, organizers said: "Dana Barrett Strong consists of the community of friends and family who support East Quogue native Dana Barrett. Dana suffered a C2 fracture, resulting in paralysis from the neck down and the inability to breathe on her own. Dana's spinal cord has been permanently damaged but doctors have said there is still hope with extensive rehabilitation. The rehabilitation is a considerable financial burden, as estimations that have been given to her family are thousands of dollars per day. The road to recovery will take years."

Any donation helps to make an impact, with all profits going toward "helping these two great causes. Thank you in advance for your contribution to the causes that mean so much to our community," organizers said.

Holly Hubbard said she's deeply touched by the outpouring from the community, who has helped to grow the event in the three years since it was organized.

"Every year, it gets bigger and bigger," she said. "It's just unbelievable. It really is."

Barrett herself has become very involved with the event, joining planning meetings by Zoom and helping with raffles, Hubbard said.

This year, Human Understanding & Growth Services, or HUGS, Inc., was also involved, with members helping with games and activities.

The event has shifted a bit, Hubbard said, with the beach cleanup, raffles and the ever-expanding fall fair, now on the Great Lawn. But always, at its essence, those who contribute are opening their hearts to remember Cory and to help Dana in her time of need. "This community is amazing," Hubbard said.

The Hubbards' son Kyle has also taken on a greater role in the planning. Hubbard also thanked Jack Clark, who has helped to take the event to new levels.

Both Cory and Dana grew up with a love of the beach, the water, of sports and sunshine and summer.

Dana and Cory, Hubbard said, "definitely knew each other." And for two young people who loved the water and the beach, the event, meant to keep the beach pristine, is a natural, she added. "Cory was a big surfer. He loved the beach. This a really good thing, in so many ways."

Her son, Hubbard said, would love to know that so much good is being done in his memory. "One woman we helped sent me a letter that said, 'You changed my life,'" Hubbard has said in a past interview. "We were so psyched. That was really great. It made us feel like we are doing something right. It feels amazing."

The event takes extensive planning, Hubbard said. "It's evolved. But it's nice to be able to help so many people in Cory's honor and in his memory. You really don't want your children to be forgotten. This is our way of keeping his memory alive."