Viral TikTok landscaper raises over $880k for elderly woman whose lawn he mowed
A landscaper who is known on social media for cleaning up — for free — the overgrown properties of those in need has gone viral after he raised more than $880,000 for an elderly woman who could scarcely take care of herself.
Spencer, who does not share his last name online, owns SB Mowing and SB Pressure Washing in Wichita, Kansas. He considers himself a “lawn care and pressure washing social media influencer,” which is an apt self-description given his 13 million followers on TikTok and his 2.6 million YouTube subscribers.
Spencer, owner of SB Mowing, stands in front of one of the yards he cleared and cut for a customer. The self-described social media influencer works on people’s overgrown lawns for free. (Credit: SB Mowing)
His videos are satisfying to watch as the time-lapse footage shows him cutting grass, removing debris, trimming trees and using a leaf blower to tidy up sidewalks and driveways. They also show his interactions with his clients when he offers his services and when they see the finished product.
Projects can last from several hours to multiple days, depending on how bad an individual situation is.
According to People magazine, Spencer received a call one day last summer from a friend who is a city worker. The friend told the 26-year-old landscaper about a woman named Beth whose lawn was so overgrown that she had received an ultimatum from authorities: Clean up her yard or face a fine.
Beth, who has mobility and accessibility issues, could not afford the $250 fine.
Spencer decided to help but was shocked by what he saw.
Watch as Spencer clears a massively overgrown lawn at an abandoned home below.
“Beth’s lawn was just crazy,” he told People. “There were weeds growing up through her deck right out of her door, and right down at the front of her stairs, and to where she’s basically having to walk through all this crazy overgrowth just to get to her car.”
Upon their first meeting, Beth told Spencer that she had tried for a month to get someone to trim her grass but that her calls were never answered or returned.
“I’m sorry it’s such a mess,” Beth said as they stood in her overgrown driveway.
Reassuring her that it was OK, Spencer told her he was there to help her for free.
“I’ll get it looking like a whole different property,” he says in the footage. “I’ll get this looking like you’ve never seen it before.”
An emotional Beth was stunned.
“My prayers have been answered,” she said.
Watch Spencer take care of Beth’s lawn below. To see more of SB Mowing’s videos, click here.
The TikTok video, which lasts six and a half minutes, shows Spencer doing the back-breaking work of clearing out the front and back yards. Afterward, Beth appears to weep with gratitude as she surveys what he accomplished.
The elderly woman, who walks with a cane, holds onto Spencer’s arm for balance.
“Your work makes me twinkle,” she says in the video.
Spencer moved on to other projects but was still concerned about Beth because of her frailty. It turns out that his followers were, too.
Upon the advice of several commenters, the landscaper set up a GoFundMe campaign to help Beth with some much-needed changes to her home. Those changes including adding a ramp up to her door and a new driveway to replace the broken concrete there now.
He also wanted to pay a more local landscaping company to maintain her lawn and install a chair lift to get her down to her washer and dryer.
In a still taken from video, Beth learns about the GoFundMe campaign to help her make her home more accessible and keep her yard maintained. The campaign by Spencer, the viral influencer from SB Mowing, has raised more than $880,000 for the elderly woman. (Credit: SB Mowing via TikTok)
“Currently, she relies on her neighbors across the street to come over once a month to go downstairs to do her laundry,” Spencer states on the fundraising page.
The initial goal was to raise $50,000 to $100,000. The donations have since surpassed $880,000.
Spencer said the donations, which far exceeded his expectations, will be put to good use.
“I’ve been talking with an estate attorney, and we’re going to set up a trust for Beth to make sure that, number one, no one’s going to take advantage of her,” he told People. “No family comes in and tries to take advantage of her now that she has that kind of money.
“And two, I want to make sure it’s not spent on something that it shouldn’t be spent on.”