Tuesday, July 14th 2020, 7:33 pm
These days, it seems like the grass is greener on the other side, but one Oklahoma City 10-year-old isn't letting it grow under his feet this summer.
"One day I found our old lawnmower, and I told my mom I wanted to mow the lawn," said OKC 5th-grader Brendon Ballard.
"My initial reaction was, are you sure you want to do that?" said Brendon's mom, Lacey Harris.
But any skepticism was quickly mowed down by Brendon's tireless work ethic.
Lacey had seen a story about the Raising Men Lawn Care Service on TV, a nationwide program that encourages kids to help out in their community by mowing lawns of the elderly, disabled, single mothers and veterans.
About three months ago she got Brendon started with the group and used an app to connect with local people in need.
"They thank me, they're proud of me. It makes me feel happy," Brendon said.
"It's actually been a really great experience bonding personally with him because I have two other children, so getting to spend one on one time with him has been a great experience," Lacey said.
Brendon can't pinpoint why he likes mowing lawns, but he is on a mowing mission.
He recently became the first kid in Oklahoma to complete the 50-yard challenge, earning a new lawnmower, leaf blower and grass trimmer from Raising Men Lawn Care Service.
He was putting them to good use Tuesday at the home of Navy veteran Donald Gaffney.
This is the third time Brendon and Lacey have mowed his lawn.
"He is a sharp little kid, he really is. It's helped me out greatly, I'm not in good health, I appreciate him coming out," Gaffney said.
Brendon is at 55 yards and counting and he plans to keep mowing until the end of the summer.
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