A landscaper-turned influencer who works to trim the lawns of neighbors in need has raised more than $380,000 for an elderly woman.
Wichita, Kan.-based lawn care and power-washing company SB Mowing has garnered hundreds of thousands of likes on platforms including TikTok and YouTube. Run by creator Spencer (who prefers not to share his last name online), the videos show off how the company trims grass in overgrown yards — and spends time helping local community members.
Many of SB Mowing’s videos show Spencer approaching his neighbors, often elderly or disabled, who have struggled to take care of their yards or properties and offering them some maintenance, free of charge.
On Friday, Jan. 9, Spencer shared a video on the company’s TikTok that would become one of his most-viewed off all time. In it, he speaks with a woman named Beth who said she had tried for a month to get someone to help her trim her overgrown lawn, to no avail.
“I got a call from a friend at the city, and she told me that there is an elderly lady that is in desperate need of help,” Spencer wrote in a GoFundMe message. “So I stopped by her house, and her lawn was getting CRAZY!”
“She’s been trying to get someone out to take care of it, but nobody is answering their phones. The city has given her a warning for her grass and was going to charge her $240 to cut it, which she couldn’t afford,” he added. “So I completely transformed her lawn for free, and she was in tears; she was so happy.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just a mess,” Beth tells Spencer in the clip, which was has garnered nearly 100 million views and 8 million likes since it was posted two days ago.
Spencer then offers to clean up the yard and tidy up the overgrowth and weeds in her driveway, to which she responds: “My prayers have been answered.”
SB Mowing’s Spencer shows off Beth’s house before cutting her lawn.
SBMowing/YouTube
By the end of the sweet video, SB Mowing has cleaned up Beth’s entire yard, and she thanks him wholeheartedly, adding: “Your work makes me twinkle.”
Even after tidying up her property, Spencer decided that yard work wasn’t enough. Many users commented on how Beth seemed to be struggling with accessibility, as she uses a cane and has to make her way up a staircase to enter her front door.
“A lot of people are wanting to donate to help her fix some of the accessibility issues around her home,” he wrote on the GoFundMe page.
In another TikTok clip posted on Sunday, Spencer shared that he had launched the GoFundMe to raise funds to build a ramp and a new driveway for Beth, purchase a chair lift for her basement and have enough cash to maintain her yard for the next few years. Other leftover funds would be used to fix several broken windows and purchase a new bed.
“I really appreciate everyone that donates to help Beth out,” Spencer continued. “I will make sure that the money goes towards fixing all of the items above or any other accessibility issues that Beth needs. Some leftover money will be give to her in cash and the rest will be donated to local nonprofits to help other people in the same situation she is in.”
SB Mowing shared some footage on TikTok of the moment Spencer told Beth that he and his followers would be raising money.
“Oh, my god,” she says in the video, reacting with tears to the news before asking: “Why?”
“They kinda fell in love with you and your story. We just wanted to come together as a community to help you out and get you to a better spot,” Spencer tells her.
“Those are the things dreams are made of,” Beth adds in the heartfelt clip.
As of Sunday, Jan. 12, the GoFundMe page had surpassed its $100,000 goal with more than $380,000 in donations.
