LONG BRANCH — Long Branch Middle School students will be seen throughout the streets of Washington, D.C., wearing green “BullyingWe’ll Stop It” T-shirts when the school’s Anti-Bullying Crew visits theWhite House and Capitol on July 2.

The group was invited by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to tour theWhite House because of their anti-bullying efforts over the past few months, according to a press release from the school. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and his staff, who have been major supporters of the group, will accompany the students on their tour of the nation’s capital.

Moved by the suicide of bullying victim Tyler Clementi as well as their own personal encounters with bullying, the group decided to take the beat of the song “I Like It” by Enrique Iglesias and change the lyrics to tell the story of a girl who is being bullied at school. The song is called “Bullying We’ll Stop It.”

After many hours — both before and after school — spent reworking lyrics and shooting and editing a music video, the project was complete. Their endeavor became a touching visual story that allowed their audience to see the emotionally devastating effects of bullying, the press release states.

When Iglesias got wind of the project in February, he lent his support, not only allowing them to use his song, but helping them gain national attention with their message by posting links to the video on his Facebook page, Twitter account and personal website, encouraging fans to check out the song. Since then, the song has garnered more than 50,000 hits. The video can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7- X3Pu20w24.

On Feb. 9, the Anti-Bullying Crew students traveled to ABC studios in New York City in the hopes of spreading their message to Michelle Obama and the world. When she left ABC studios in her motorcade, the First Lady waved and smiled at the students, who were standing on the street singing their song.

The crew’s message garnered the attention of regional newspapers as well as New York news networks.

In February, the students were invited to show their music video and perform their song live at a Black History Month event honoring the New Jersey Black Caucus and hosted by Menendez, who praised the students for their work and stated several times that Mrs. Obama had seen the video and was very impressed with their work and message, according to the press release.