Elderly Woman Could Not Afford To Cut Her Grass, So These Kind Men Told Her They Would Regularly Mow For Free
Rodney Smith Jr. and Terrence Stroy are helping those in need, one lawn at a time! When an elderly woman was released from the hospital, she was no longer able to pay her neighbor for her lawn mowing services because she had hospital bills and medication costs.
Rodney to the rescue
Fortunately, Rodney and Terrence from Raising Men Lawn Care Service came to her rescue and offered to mow her lawn for free for the rest of her life.
Rodney Smith Jr. and Terrence Stroy now come every two weeks to make sure her lawn is well cared for and, most importantly, to let her know she is loved.
“Today we did this lady’s yard. She was telling us how the man next door was charging her to cut her yard and she could not afford it because she is on a fixed income and just came out the hospital,” Rodney wrote.
Rodney and Terrence run Raising Men Lawn Care a nonprofit organization that aims to show kindness and compassion to those individuals who are disabled, single mothers, veterans, and the elderly by mowing their lawns for free.
Rodney started helping with lawn care when he noticed an elderly man having a lot of trouble mowing his yard.
He thought, “I should do something about this. He challenged himself to mow 40 yards for free to help the elderly and those who had trouble mowing their lawns. What started as a personal challenge has grown into a program of more than 400 young men and women across America who now mow their neighbors’ lawns for free.
“It happened a few years later in 2015, when I came across an elderly man outside mowing his lawn. It looked like he was struggling, so I pulled over and I helped him out. At the time I was getting my bachelor’s in computer science, so I thought I could mow 40 lawns by the end of winter. But I mowed 40 lawns so quick that I upped my goal to 100. So, a month and a half later I reached my 100th lawn, and that’s when I came up with the idea of raising men lawn care service.”
Rodney created the 50 Yard Challenge, which challenges children and teens across the country to mow 50 lawns for people in need.
They participate by posting a photo online of themselves holding a sign that reads “I accept the 50 Yard Challenge,” and then they get to work.
“So let’s say you had a kid in New York that accepted the challenge, all they would need to do is make a sign saying, ‘I accept the 50 Yard Challenge,’ and in return, we send them a white Raising Men Lawn Care Service T-shirt, along with shades and ear protection. Once they mow 10 lawns, they get an orange shirt, 20 a green, 30 a blue, 40 a red and 50 a black. And once they reach 50, we fly to them, we do lawns with them and we also give them brand new lawnmowers,” Rodney explained.
Raising Men Lawn Care hopes to not only help those in need with their lawns, but also to establish an inspirational program to keep our youth, girls and boys. Participation in the 50 Yard Challenges helps young men and women understand the value of kindness and service to those in need.
Rodney wants them to know that what they are doing is important.
“I’m just trying to encourage kids to get out there and make a difference,” Rodney explained. “Too many kids are inside playing video games. And what I’m doing, I believe it’s my purpose. I remember a few years ago, I had a one-on-one conversation with God, and I asked him to use me as his vessel. He didn’t give me an answer that day, not a week later, not even a month later.”
He said, ‘Oh, did you see his face just now? I finished his lawn, and he had a big smile on his face and he thanked me. Oh man, oh man.’ I mean, it’s priceless just to see his face just light up after he’d done his first lawn. And that’s the kind of reaction a lot of the kids are giving us. So it’s really cool to see such a small idea grow into something that is inspiring kids nationwide and even worldwide.” Rodney said.
Recently, Rodney visited all 50 states to mow the lawns of those in need.
“Before I started the tour, I made a request to my followers. If they knew anyone in the cities and states I’ll be going to. So I selected a city in each state where I’d be going to. Then, I put it out, and people just start submitting lawns of those who are elderly, disabled, single moms and veterans. And that’s how it all happened. I mow an average of three to four lawns per city. Sometimes it’s more.” Explained Rodney.
Not only has Raising Men Lawn Services helped so many people, but it has also shown them that kindness and compassion still exist in the world.
