VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY – There was certainly something in the water surrounding First Landing State Park.

“We were riding around on the boat, and saw a lot of trash on the beach,” said Dex Auer, who helped organize a cleanup event at the 64th Street boat ramp.

Debris from last month’s tornado in Virginia Beach’s Chelsea neighborhood had blown from peoples’ homes and into the water.

“We found hot tubs, we found boats, we found shingles, we found roofs, personal belongings, stuffed animals – it was pretty sad,” Auer said.

On Sunday, dozens of volunteers got up early to clear the water of wood, nails and other dangerous objects.

“It’s just unfathomable, to lose your personal belongings, your child’s stuffed animals, just unreal that these people are without a home,” Auer said.

“There was a lot more that I anticipated,” said volunteer Avery Tuell.

State Sen. Bill DeSteph helped spearhead the effort. He tells 10 On Your Side that the volunteer cleanup takes some weight off state workers’ shoulders.

“We only have so many park rangers who are overtaxed and understaffed over there, so this gives them the opportunity to help. They were tremendously successful,” DeSteph said.

Jesse Wykle, owner of Virginia Beach restaurant Aloha Snacks, brought out his food truck to feed the volunteers.

“I just thought it was a good way to give back,” he said.

But for Wykle, the morning of positivity turned into an evening of disappointment. He returned to his Oceanfront restaurant to find his food truck had been vandalized when someone threw a cinder block through the window.

“It’s tough to be out here doing what we did yesterday, and then go back and have somebody destroy some personal property,” he said.

It will cost $1,000 to fix the truck, then there’s cost of missed business.

“We’re gonna miss two events because the truck is gonna be down,” Wykle said. “Being a small business, that hurts us.”

Even so, pulling about two tons of debris from the water and keeping the popular spot safe for the summer made it worth it for Wykle.

“Whether you’re gonna be waterskiing, wakeboarding, boating, swimming or just walking along the beach,” he said, “… something needed to be done.”