In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted daily life in the US, Brian Schwartz lost his job. Landscape Management reported that Schwartz, who was also caring for a sick parent at the time, found a way to help older neighbours and veterans struggling to maintain their yards.
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What started as a simple act of help soon attracted people who wanted to do the same. Schwartz created a basic website with his contact details so people could reach him. Requests began coming from outside his neighbourhood, and volunteers started contacting him to ask how they could help people in their own communities, the organisation's webiste says.
That small effort eventually became I Want To Mow Your Lawn, a registered nonprofit based in Wayne, New Jersey. The organisation now connects volunteers with older adults, veterans and other people who need temporary help with their yards. It operates through volunteers rather than as a paid landscaping service.
Six years after Schwartz started with a mower and a small group of volunteers, the network has expanded to more than 2,000 volunteers across all 50 US states. Its website currently lists more than 2,060 actively enlisted volunteers, over 3,090 service visits and more than 630 households served. It also says more than 15,000 people have reached out for help.
A nationwide network
The organisation says it began in the summer of 2020 with 10 volunteers and a borrowed lawn mower. The idea was simply to connect people who could not manage their lawns with people willing to give their time and equipment to help them.
Schwartz said the response went beyond what he expected. In a note on the organisation's website, he recalled how requests first came from beyond his neighbourhood and then beyond New Jersey.
The organisation says its purpose is not to replace professional landscaping services. Instead, it provides temporary lawn-care relief through volunteers.
The service can include mowing, raking, trimming and edging. Some volunteers also provide other outdoor help. The organisation says there is no charge for the people receiving the service and that donations are optional.
Volunteers decide when to help
The network is built around individual volunteers rather than a traditional landscaping workforce. Once approved, volunteers can use the organisation's website or app to find requests near them.
They can see information about the work required, the distance and preferred dates before deciding whether to take a visit. Volunteers are not required to make a long-term commitment and can choose individual visits.
