'I'm so grateful': Shawnee's Mow Squad offers free lawn care to qualifying residents in need

KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of healthcare, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.

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Shawnee's Neighbors Helping Neighbors program connects volunteers and local businesses with qualifying Shawnee residents in need of lawn and snow services — and provides the service completely free of charge.

You may have heard of the program's Snow Squad, where volunteers are matched to qualifying Shawnee residents who need help with snow removal.

The Mow Squad, another sub-program of Neighbors Helping Neighbors, launched in 2017. It matches qualifying residents with volunteers ahead of each season so they know help is on the way.

To qualify, residents must own and occupy a home in Shawnee, Kansas, be 65 or older or have a disability, and have a household income of $61,250 or less.

Richard Milne is one of those residents.

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"A heart attack slowed me down a bit, so needed some help with some of the ... heavier things to do," Milne said.

Before connecting with the program, Milne said he couldn't keep up with the demands of his lawn.

"For two years prior to Green Lawn, I cut all the grass myself with a weed eater, so it took me about three days to do it," Milne said. "And finally, I got to the point where, no más. I couldn't do it anymore."

Now, a local lawn care company mows his lawn every week at no charge.

"I really appreciate what they do," Milne said.

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As Shawnee's volunteer coordinator, Elizabeth Griffith oversees the program.

"Neighbors Helping Neighbors came about from a need in the community," Griffith said. "It's huge to those receiving it. Sometimes they don't have another option."

Green Lawn in Shawnee connected with the program — and with Milne. President Craig Hawkins said the idea came from one of his employees.

"Tony, that you saw here mowing earlier, came back to me and said, 'Hey, I heard about this Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. Think it's something we could do?'" Hawkins said.

Green Lawn is back helping Milne again this summer, even with rising fuel costs.

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"The community does so much to provide for us, to help us and our business grow. It's just something that we can do that helps us return the favor, right?" Hawkins said.

Green Lawn is one of several businesses volunteering through the Mow Squad. Foley Lawn Care has participated for six years and serves multiple yards; Mears Lawn & Landscape is in its second year; and NeuroRehab KC has joined, creatively incorporating volunteer lawn care into rehabilitation for one client.

Since April, Mow Squad volunteers have logged 264.75 hours of service. The program currently serves 23 residents, with mowing provided at least every two weeks.

Volunteers include two churches, four businesses and nine individuals. One individual volunteer mows five yards weekly, and another mows two yards while also serving as a backup for a homeowner who prefers to mow until the heat becomes too much.

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The broader Neighbors Helping Neighbors program has assisted with 45 requests from January to date — not including Mow Squad activity — with 28 volunteers contributing 413.25 hours.

You do not have to be a Shawnee resident to volunteer. Individuals, groups and businesses can sign up by providing some basic information. For more details, email Griffith at egriffith@cityofshawnee.org.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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