While many kids spent Saturday pulling out toys and playing with friends, two were busy cleaning up a mess they didn’t make.

Tyler Sampieri, an Athens Intermediate student, and ElleGrace Sampieri, a SPARK Academy student, spent their Saturday picking up litter at Coxey church of Christ on the corner of New Cut Road and U.S. 72. The siblings adopted the corner at their church to fight litter, according to Holly Hollman, who was alongside them Saturday.

“They started their work on Feb. 15, picking up beer and cola cans and bottles, Styrofoam pieces, plastic and more,” Hollman said, adding they took extra time to pick out what they could recycle at the Athens-Limestone Recycling Center.

EllaGrace also kept the cola tabs to donate to Ronald McDonald House for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Hollman said.

Tyler and EllaGrace, the children of Justin and Jennifer Hilton Sampieri of Athens, participate in Lads to Leaders at Coxey church of Christ. The program has various activities to encourage children to learn Bible principles and how to be leaders, Hollman said.

“They are picking up litter as part of the Good Samaritan portion and to accept Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful’s challenge to adopt an area,” said Hollman, who helps with the Lad to Leaders program.

“You make me so proud,” said Lynne Hart, executive coordinator of KALB.

Hart said Tyler and EllaGrace are great examples to others and thanked them for taking good care of the earth.