Spencer owns a lawn care company in Wichita, Kansas, and he’s been in business for 11 years. His company maintains about 40 properties in the area every week. In his free time, Spencer helps people in need. How? Does he serve food at a soup kitchen, donate scads of money to charity, or perform acts of service that would have put Mother Teresa to shame? No, no, and no. Each week, Spencer drives around the area looking for properties with overgrown lawns. When he finds one, he knocks on the door and asks the homeowner if he can clean it up—for free.
Spencer often finds that the lawn has become neglected due to the owner becoming injured, ill, or disabled, and they cannot afford to hire a lawn service. Some of these folks are at risk of being fined.
On a whim, Spencer started videotaping his lawn makeovers and posting the videos on YouTube. To date, his channel, SB Mowing, has grown to more than 409,000 subscribers in less than a year. Thousands of viewers and subscribers tune in each week to be inspired by his lawn transformations and his acts of kindness.
In a recent live Q&A video, Spencer says his motivations are to stay busy, improve neighborhoods, and help others. Sure, his volunteer work and videos are great visibility for his company, and he also sells logo shirts and accepts donations on Patreon—money that no doubt helps him fuel and maintain his equipment and edit his YouTube videos. But that’s okay, because Spencer’s crisis cleanups are hard manual labor, often done on hot, sunny days or in the evenings, after Spencer has already put in a full day of paid work.
Sometimes Spencer’s work becomes a kind of archeological dig where he discovers long-forgotten sidewalks buried under inches of heavy dirt, and he unearths them by hand with a shovel. It’s difficult, dirty work. But once Spencer commits to a project, he finishes it, even if it takes several days or evenings. And if the homeowner tries to tip him, he declines. Often, they’re moved to tears by his kindness and efforts. Spencer has now purchased pressure washing equipment and has begun offering free walkway and driveway cleanups.
Spencer’s time-lapse lawn makeover videos are a strangely relaxing way to unwind after a busy day (ask me how I know). But they’re also a reminder that meaningful acts of service and kindness don’t require huge amounts of money, planning, or complexity; we can just use what we have. Spencer had lawn care equipment and free time, so he decided to knock on some doors and mow some lawns. The lawns may grow back eventually, but the memory of Spencer’s generosity will endure.
Watch one of Spencer’s lawn makeover videos here, or click the image above.