In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted daily life in the US, Brian Schwartz lost his job.
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Schwartz → disrupt → 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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who → report → yards
What started as a simple act of help soon attracted people who wanted to do the same.
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who → start → same
Schwartz created a basic website with his contact details so people could reach him.
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people → create → 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.
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webiste → begin → communities
That small effort eventually became I Want To Mow Your Lawn, a registered nonprofit based in Wayne, New Jersey.
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I → become → Wayne
The organisation now connects volunteers with older adults, veterans and other people who need temporary help with their yards.
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who → connect → yards
It operates through volunteers rather than as a paid landscaping service.
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It → operate → 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.
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network → start → states
Its website currently lists more than 2,060 actively enlisted volunteers, over 3,090 service visits and more than 630 households served.
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website → list → volunteers
It also says more than 15,000 people have reached out for help.
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people → say → help
The organisation says it began in the summer of 2020 with 10 volunteers and a borrowed lawn mower.
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it → say → volunteers
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.
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who → connect → them
Schwartz said the response went beyond what he expected.
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he → say → what
In a note on the organisation's website, he recalled how requests first came from beyond his neighbourhood and then beyond New Jersey.
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requests → recall → Jersey
The organisation says its purpose is not to replace professional landscaping services.
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purpose → say → services
Instead, it provides temporary lawn-care relief through volunteers.
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it → provide → volunteers
The service can include mowing, raking, trimming and edging.
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service → include → mowing
Some volunteers also provide other outdoor help.
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volunteers → provide → help
The organisation says there is no charge for the people receiving the service and that donations are optional.
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donations → say → service
Volunteers decide when to help
The network is built around individual volunteers rather than a traditional landscaping workforce.
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network → decide → workforce
Once approved, volunteers can use the organisation's website or app to find requests near them.
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volunteers → approve → them
They can see information about the work required, the distance and preferred dates before deciding whether to take a visit.
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They → see → visit
Volunteers are not required to make a long-term commitment and can choose individual visits.
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Volunteers → require → visits
The organisation says volunteers communicate with homeowners through privacy-protected channels.
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volunteers → say → channels
After completing a visit, they can record their hours and upload before-and-after photographs.
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they → complete → photographs
The organisation also reviews volunteers before approving them.
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organisation → review → them
It describes itself as a facilitator rather than a contractor and says coverage can vary depending on where volunteers are available.
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volunteers → describe → facilitator
The numbers show how far the original idea has expanded.
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idea → show → ?
The organisation's current website lists more than 2,060 volunteers, 3,090 service visits and 630 unique households served.
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website → list → volunteers
It says volunteers are active across all 50 states.
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volunteers → say → states
It also says more than 9,000 people had contacted the organisation for help through its online form and voicemail line in one of its current impact updates.
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people → say → updates
The requests come from people who may be older, veterans, living with disabilities or dealing with financial or physical difficulties that make yard work harder.
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work → come → difficulties
For Schwartz, the response from volunteers became an important part of the project.
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response → become → project
He wrote that some volunteers told him that helping a stranger had changed their week or their outlook.
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helping → write → week
“We were doing what we could to provide some relief at a difficult time.
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we → do → time
One thing led to another with people starting to reach out- homeowners, volunteers,” Schwartz said, as qouted by MLB.com.
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Schwartz → lead → MLB.com
Yankees recognised the organisation
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Yankees → recognise → organisation
The nonprofit received wider attention in 2026 when the Major League Baseball teamNew York Yankees selected Schwartz and I Want To Mow Your Lawn for the team's HOPE week.
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I → receive → week
During the June 2026 event, Yankees players, coaches and staff joined Schwartz and volunteers in New Jersey to work on a homeowner's yard.
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players → join → yard
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
