is mowing lawns this summer 鈥� not only at his home in Huntsville, Alabama, but in all 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. And he鈥檚 doing it for free.
Smith () says his goal is to help the elderly, people who are disabled, veterans and single mothers, and his nonprofit organization has gotten young kids involved in the effort.
He tells Here & Now鈥榮 Lisa Mullins that many of the people whose grass he cuts are 鈥渟hocked鈥� at first, but then appreciative that someone is there to help.
鈥淚 remember just a few days ago, this lady, she was a widow for a few years, and she just let the lawn go, because her husband used to take care of the lawn,鈥� Smith says. 鈥淏ut I came and mowed it for her. And it hadn鈥檛 been cut in probably three to four years.鈥�
Interview Highlights
On how he finds out about lawns in need of mowing
鈥淏efore I started the tour, I made a request to my followers, if they knew anyone in the cities and states I鈥檒l be going to. So I selected a city in each state where I鈥檇 be going to, and I put it out, and people just start submitting lawns of those who are elderly, disabled, single moms and veterans, and that鈥檚 how it all happened.
鈥淚 mow an average of three to four lawns per city. Sometimes it鈥檚 more. Like yesterday in Casper, Wyoming, I had about five or six lawns. So it was a pretty busy day.鈥�
On how many young people he鈥檚 recruited so far
鈥淲e have a total of about 180 kids taking part in our , including one in Canada and seven in Bermuda and England that are taking part in this challenge. So let鈥檚 say you had a kid in New York that accepted the challenge, all they would need to do is make a sign saying, 鈥業 accept the 50 Yard Challenge,鈥� 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.
鈥淎nd once they reach 50, we fly to them, we do lawns with them and we also give them brand new lawnmowers. To date, 12 kids nationwide have completed this.鈥�
On why he鈥檚 doing this
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to encourage kids to get out there and make a difference. Too many kids are inside playing video games. And what I鈥檓 doing, I believe it鈥檚 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鈥檛 give me an answer that day, not a week later, not even a month later. It happened a few years later in 2015, when I came across an elderly man outside mowing his lawn, and it looked like he was struggling, so I pulled over and I helped him out. At the time I was getting my bachelor鈥檚 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, and a month and a half later I reached my 100th lawn, and that鈥檚 when I came up with the idea of raising my lawn care service.鈥�
On what he says to kids who might complain while mowing a lawn
鈥淚 let them know that they鈥檙e making a difference. I remember one kid we had, he came out for the first time with us in Huntsville, where I鈥檓 based out of, and at first he was like, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want to do this.鈥� But after he finished his first lawn, it was for an elderly man, and I asked him on camera, how does it feel to know that he made a difference. And his face lit up. He said, 鈥極h, 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.鈥� I mean, it鈥檚 priceless just to see his face just light up after he鈥檇 done his first lawn, and that鈥檚 the kind of reaction a lot of the kids are giving us. So it鈥檚 really cool to see such a small idea grow into something that is inspiring kids nationwide and even worldwide.鈥�
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