Imagine a moment of desperation: If you had to raise as much money as possible in just 24 hours, relying solely on the generosity of the people in your life, how much could you gather?
Now, let’s flip the question: What if you had to raise the money for someone else in need?
A few days ago, I stumbled across a TikTok video from an account called SB Mowing. I’d seen their videos before—they typically feature a man named Spencer traveling around Wichita, Kansas, tackling overgrown lawns and transforming them for free. The videos are oddly satisfying to watch: they’re played at 3x speed, showing Spencer mowing the grass, edging the lawn, trimming trees and bushes, and clearing weeds until the yard looks immaculate—good as new.
But the video I stumbled on the other day was slightly more impactful. Spencer had decided to help an elderly woman whose lawn had become completely unmanageable. You can watch the video HERE, but to summarize: the woman couldn’t afford landscapers to fix her yard, and the city had warned her that if it wasn’t cleaned up soon, they’d charge her $240 to send someone to do it. Spencer learned about her situation through a friend who worked for the city and decided to step in to help.
The video went viral, racking up 90 million views. It was a win-win in the best sense. The woman got her yard restored, sparing her from the stress of the $240 fine, and Spencer’s business gained widespread recognition through the video. But the story didn’t end there.
Thousands of viewers were moved by the woman’s story and began flooding the comments, asking Spencer how they could help her. In response, he set up a GoFundMe campaign, and as of this writing, 29,000 people have donated, raising $734,000 in just 48 hours. Since raising the money, Spencer has committed to overseeing several renovations and updates that need to be done to the woman’s house. And keep in mind, this all happened over the past weekend—at a time when many Americans were already donating to support relief efforts for the California wildfires.
Here are my takeaways:
This is exactly why I’ve fallen in love with writing and the art of storytelling over the last few years. The way a story is presented holds incredible power—enough power to raise a life-changing sum of money for a vulnerable woman in Kansas.
TikTok may be disappearing this weekend, which means stories like this might not reach us in the same way. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The truth is, we’re not meant to be exposed to so many stories from all corners of the world.
This reminds me of a quote I recently read from C.S. Lewis:
It is one of the evils of rapid diffusion of news that the sorrows of all the world come to us every morning. I think each village was meant to feel pity for its own sick and poor whom it can help and I doubt if it is the duty of any private person to fix his mind on ills which he cannot help. (This may even become an escape from the works of charity we really can do to those we know). A great many people do now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself meritorious. I don't think it is. We must, if it so happens, give our lives for others: but even while we're doing it, I think we're meant to enjoy Our Lord and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, your jokes, and the birds’ song and the frosty sunrise.
Spencer from SB Mowing embodied exactly what Lewis describes: he helped someone in his community, making a real, tangible difference.
I remember watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a child and feeling that it was somewhat dated and overly simplistic. But looking back, it’s no accident that the show’s entire ethos revolved around being a good neighbor. It’s a timeless and universal message we need now more than ever, especially as society grows increasingly isolated—a phenomenon explored in this Atlantic article titled “The Anti-Social Century.”
It was heartbreaking to witness the aftermath of the wildfires this past week—the communities destroyed, the memories lost to the flames.
So as I reflect on what this means for me, in my little corner of the world, one thing becomes clear: the world doesn’t need more cynicism. What it needs are stories of kindness and connection. It needs real-life heroes—everyday neighbors quietly stepping up to make a difference and lending a helping hand to those in need.
Imagine a moment of desperation: If you had to raise as much money as possible in just 24 hours, relying solely on the generosity of the people in your life, how much could you gather?
Now, let’s flip the question: What if you had to raise the money for someone else in need?
A few days ago, I stumbled across a TikTok video from an account called SB Mowing. I’d seen their videos before—they typically feature a man named Spencer traveling around Wichita, Kansas, tackling overgrown lawns and transforming them for free. The videos are oddly satisfying to watch: they’re played at 3x speed, showing Spencer mowing the grass, edging the lawn, trimming trees and bushes, and clearing weeds until the yard looks immaculate—good as new.
But the video I stumbled on the other day was slightly more impactful. Spencer had decided to help an elderly woman whose lawn had become completely unmanageable. You can watch the video HERE, but to summarize: the woman couldn’t afford landscapers to fix her yard, and the city had warned her that if it wasn’t cleaned up soon, they’d charge her $240 to send someone to do it. Spencer learned about her situation through a friend who worked for the city and decided to step in to help.
The video went viral, racking up 90 million views. It was a win-win in the best sense. The woman got her yard restored, sparing her from the stress of the $240 fine, and Spencer’s business gained widespread recognition through the video. But the story didn’t end there.
Thousands of viewers were moved by the woman’s story and began flooding the comments, asking Spencer how they could help her. In response, he set up a GoFundMe campaign, and as of this writing, 29,000 people have donated, raising $734,000 in just 48 hours. Since raising the money, Spencer has committed to overseeing several renovations and updates that need to be done to the woman’s house. And keep in mind, this all happened over the past weekend—at a time when many Americans were already donating to support relief efforts for the California wildfires.
Here are my takeaways:
This is exactly why I’ve fallen in love with writing and the art of storytelling over the last few years. The way a story is presented holds incredible power—enough power to raise a life-changing sum of money for a vulnerable woman in Kansas.
TikTok may be disappearing this weekend, which means stories like this might not reach us in the same way. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The truth is, we’re not meant to be exposed to so many stories from all corners of the world.
This reminds me of a quote I recently read from C.S. Lewis:
It is one of the evils of rapid diffusion of news that the sorrows of all the world come to us every morning. I think each village was meant to feel pity for its own sick and poor whom it can help and I doubt if it is the duty of any private person to fix his mind on ills which he cannot help. (This may even become an escape from the works of charity we really can do to those we know). A great many people do now seem to think that the mere state of being worried is in itself meritorious. I don't think it is. We must, if it so happens, give our lives for others: but even while we're doing it, I think we're meant to enjoy Our Lord and, in Him, our friends, our food, our sleep, your jokes, and the birds’ song and the frosty sunrise.
Spencer from SB Mowing embodied exactly what Lewis describes: he helped someone in his community, making a real, tangible difference.
I remember watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood as a child and feeling that it was somewhat dated and overly simplistic. But looking back, it’s no accident that the show’s entire ethos revolved around being a good neighbor. It’s a timeless and universal message we need now more than ever, especially as society grows increasingly isolated—a phenomenon explored in this Atlantic article titled “The Anti-Social Century.”
It was heartbreaking to witness the aftermath of the wildfires this past week—the communities destroyed, the memories lost to the flames.
So as I reflect on what this means for me, in my little corner of the world, one thing becomes clear: the world doesn’t need more cynicism. What it needs are stories of kindness and connection. It needs real-life heroes—everyday neighbors quietly stepping up to make a difference and lending a helping hand to those in need.
