Rodney Smith Jr. is making a difference across communities one lawn at a time. He is the founder of Raising Men Lawn Care Service, a nonprofit organization that provides free lawn care to the elderly, those who are disabled, single parents, and veterans.
He’s not just maintaining lawns, he’s shaping the youth of the future as well, helping girls and boys understand their value in society.
“I wanted to use this as an outlet, so kids could put down the video games and get out there in the community and give back because I believe it’s important for kids to learn how to give back before they receive things,” Rodney Smith Jr told Cheddar Wednesday.
He's challenging kids to cut 50 lawns for free for those who need it most. For every 10 lawns cut, they get a new Raising Men or Raising Women shirt in different colors. Once they get to 50 lawns, they get a new color shirt along with a brand new lawnmower, weed eater, and blower that Smith said he would personally deliver to anywhere in the country.
The organizer said about 50 kids have completed this challenge and 750 are currently taking it on.
“They are becoming active in their community and that's a beautiful thing to see,” Smith said.
Smith also added that amid the coronavirus pandemic he started what he called a "mow and drop" service that includes grocery drop-offs along with lawn care for those stuck inside.
This episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Cheddar takes a deep dive into how offices in Silicon Valley are handling return-to-office policies with Jesse Levinson, Cofounder and CTO of Zoox; Bob Lockett, Chief Diversity & Talent Officer at ADP breaks down the importance of flexibility at work and how to approach compensation in order to improve retention; Pamela Rucker, CIO Advisor and Instructor for Harvard Professional Development, explains how A.I. can play a role in sustainability efforts and what business leaders need to know about ESG.
Jeremy Kim and Wootak Kim, content creators and the stars of the ‘Under the Influence’ podcast and YouTube series, joined Cheddar News to talk about using their platform to help other Asian American creators. "When we were kind of like coming up with the show idea, there's like so many other people that we really respect or look up to or that interesting stories that will never get the chance to be seen by anybody else," said Jeremy Kim. "And so that's the kind of the platform that we wanted to create."
Chantel Powell, Co-Founder and CEO of Play Pits, joins Cheddar News to discuss how she's grown her business from making it in her very own home to being sold on the shelves in Target stores across the nation, and break down how her business remained resilient throughout the pandemic.
Coming off of their face masks endeavor, Jill Zarin of "The Real Housewives of New York City," and her daughter Ally Shapiro, CMO of JIll & Ally, join Cheddar News to discuss their latest product: crystal manifestation candles. "We have tigers eye, we have amethyst, we have lapis, and alone those could be almost the price of the candle," said Zarin. "We were really able to do it in an affordable way, and if you don't know how to manifest or what that even means, we do it for you on the candle." Zarin also dished on the new season of "Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip."
Catching you up on the entertainment headlines of the day with the new "Thor: Love and Thunder" trailer, Tom Cruise saying that he sees every movie that's in theaters, Lucasfilm warning Black actor Moses Ingram starring in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" about a potential racist backlash, and more.
Liana Guzmán, CEO of FOLX Health, joins Cheddar News to discuss the company launching billboards across the country in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
