Raising Men Lawn Care Service mows lawns for free

By: Tom Round

WDRB Photojournalist

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There's an old saying that goes, "You can't get something from nothing." But that's not the case when you're talking about Rodney Smith Jr. or his lawn mowing service.

Smith mows lawns for free.

"Back in 2015, I came across an elderly man outside mowing his lawn," Smith said. "It looked like he was struggling, so I pulled over, and I helped him out. That night, I decided I’ll mow free lawns for the elderly, disabled, single moms and veterans.”

A year later, Smith founded his own organization, Raising Men Lawn Care Service, that does just that. It mows lawns for the elderly, disabled, single moms and veterans -- all for free.

“I hear the stories all the time, that they’re on fixed incomes, and there’s only so much money they have," Smith said. "They don’t want to use their last bit of funds to get their lawn cut when they have other important stuff to do.”

The generosity is contagious, so much so that Smith's organization is issuing what it calls the "50 Yard Challenge" to any kid in the world who will accept it. The goal is for each kid to commit to mowing 50 laws for free, for the elderly, disabled, single moms and veterans in their community.

"They’ll make a sign saying, ‘I accept the 50 yard challenge,’" Smith said. "In return, we send them their white 'Raising Men Lawn Care Service' T-shirt, along with shades and ear protection. Once they mow 50, we fly to wherever they are, we do lawns with them, and we also give them a brand new mower, a weed eater and blower.”

Smith said roughly 250 kids have accepted the challenge in the United States. There is also one in Canada, seven in Bermuda and three in Australia.

Jerrika Baker, a single mom of three kids in Louisville, decided to try Smith's service out on Tuesday.

“I gave the number a text, and he texted back and said, ‘I’m on my way,’" she said. "I thought it was a joke at first. And by the time I got to the door, he was saying, ‘I’m here to cut your grass.’”

Baker was delighted to see her 5-year-old come alongside Smith and want to help.

“He’s picking up some good qualities as a man who is growing up in this kind of neighborhood," she said. "It’s hard. He really enjoyed it. To see him cut grass, it was real nice.”

“Some people think a lawn mower is not a big difference, but it really is," Smith said. "A lot of kids are playing video games. We want to show them the importance of giving back to the community.”