HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Rodney Smith Jr. grew up on the island of Bermuda, watching his dad help people by building houses. Today, Rodney is about to graduate from college and says he thinks some of his dad’s giving spirit may have rubbed off on him.
Rodney is one half of a lawn care service in Huntsville, Ala., called Raising Men Lawn Care Service.
This lawn service is extraordinary in many ways, none of which has to do with the quality of their lawn care. (But by the looks of things, they’re doing a great job!)
Their lawn service focuses on people who need the most help. Last fall, Rodney saw an elderly man struggling to cut his grass. “I thought I needed to do something about it,” remembers Rodney. “That’s when I decided to cut lawns for the elderly, disabled and single mothers for free.”
Rodney initially set out to cut 40 lawns for free. He reached that goal in six weeks and soon after reached 100 lawns. Rodney saw how many people he was helping, so he joined forces with Terrence Stroy and started recruiting neighborhood youth. They weren’t only recruiting the young men and women to help with the lawns, they also felt as if they had a duty to teach the kids responsibility, respect and giving. “I want boys to follow in my footsteps and be better than me and give back,” says Rodney.
When the news of their service started spreading around Huntsville, not only did they get more requests for lawn help, they received an outpouring of kindness from across the country.
Lawn equipment, gasoline and maintenance on their equipment has been donated or paid for by people who want to help Rodney and Terrence. They set up a GoFundMe page to help with some of the costs to run their service. They also got the attention of Briggs & Stratton, the world’s largest producer of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment.
Briggs & Stratton profiled Rodney for its You.Powered. initiative and provided them with lawn equipment, including a mower that folds to fit in the trunk of a car. They also paid off the original GoFundMe goal of $2,000.
Little by little, lawn by lawn, these men and youth are making a difference in the lives of so many in their area. A quick scroll of their Facebook page is filled with videos and photos of thankful men and women who have been helped by their service.
