Are you ready to hear some great stories? If so, you’re in the right place. You’re going to hear true stories about how a simple vision and acts of service can change families, relationships and communities. You’ll learn powerful ways to teach your kids the value of service to others and how it can change their life.

Rodney Smith Jr. is the founder of a 501c3 organization called Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service which provides a very inspirational program that focuses on channeling the energy that youths have in a positive way as well as helping those who need it the most.

To learn more, donate or get involved visit: https://weareraisingmen.com/about-us/

To donate to the organization Amazon Wishlist visit: https://weareraisingmen.com/amazon-wish-list/

Special thanks to InGenius Prep for sponsoring The Fatherhood Challenge. To learn more about InGenius Prep or to claim your free consultation, visit: https://ingeniusprep.com/get-a-free-consultation/?utm_campaign=2024+Podcast+Email+Marketing&utm_content=Fatherhood+Podcast&utm_medium=Fatherhood+Podcast&utm_source=Fatherhood+Podcast&utm_term=Fatherhood+Podcast

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Transcript - Servant Leadership Training

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Are you ready to hear some great stories? If so, you're in the right place. You're going to hear

true stories about how a simple vision and acts of service can change families, relationships,

and communities. In just a moment, you'll learn powerful ways to teach your kids the value of

service to others and how it can change their life. So don't go anywhere. Before we begin,

I'd like to thank our proud sponsor of this episode and the Fatherhood Challenge,

In Genius Prep. In Genius Prep is the world's premier admissions consulting firm proud to be

officially recognized as the country's top college admissions consultants helping students

prepare for admissions to top schools through individualized educational programs that increase

chances of admission by up to 10 times. In Genius Prep students work with former admission officers

to differentiate themselves from other competitive students in three areas colleges evaluate students.

In academics, extra curricular activities, and personal characteristics. Just this past admission

cycle, In Genius Prep students have secured 110 offers from Ivy League schools, 268 offers

from top 20 schools, and 904 offers from top 50 schools. In Genius Prep student success lies

within the fact that In Genius Prep is an all-in-one consulting firm offering every service of family needs,

whether it be test prep, tailored candidacy, building mentorship, academic mentorships,

the leadership and innovation lab, soft skills courses, writing courses, and other customized

programs to develop their application persona to the most effective and authentic extent to share

with colleges. Just click on the link in the episode description to book a free strategy call

with one of In Genius Prep's college experts or you can visit ingeniousprep.com. That's

in Genius Prep.com and let them know you came from the Fatherhood Challenge. Welcome to the Fatherhood

Challenge, a movement to awaken and inspire fathers everywhere to take great pride in their role,

and a challenge society to understand how important fathers are to the stability and culture of

their family's environment. Now here's your host, Jonathan Guerrero. Greetings everyone. Thank you

so much for joining me. My guest is Rodney Smith, Jr. Rodney is the founder of a 501-C3 organization

called Raising Men and Women, Lawn Care Service, which provides a very inspirational program that

focuses on channeling the energy that youth have in a positive way as well as helping those in need.

Rodney, thank you so much for being on the Fatherhood Challenge. Thank you for having me. I really

appreciate it. Rodney, let's start with your own story, starting with how you grew up and what led

you to start Raising Men and Women, Lawn Care Service. Yeah, so, um, originally I'm from the island

of Bermuda. I came to the United States to finish my last two years of high school in a small town

called Aminia, New York. It was a small boarding school for kids with learning disabilities.

And I was there for two years and I would say the best two years of my life, one graduating from

there. I went to Fort Lauderdale, Florida because I thought I wanted to do something with computers,

so I attended ITD Tech out in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. And I was there for about six months and

during those six months, I had a hard time adjusting and just one night I just prayed to God and asked

Him to use me as a vessel. He didn't give me answer that day, not a month later, not even a year later.

It would happen a few years later and here I am in Huntsville, Alabama in my senior year of college,

getting my bachelor's in computer science. And I was leaving school one day and I came across an

elderly man outside Muingan's lawn and looked like he was struggling. So I done what anyone would do.

I pulled over and helped him out. And literally, I know that once more, the kind of was what eventually

changed my life ever. And from that day on, I started Muingan free lawns for the elderly, disabled,

single parents, and veterans in Huntsville, Alabama. With me being in school, I thought I could move

40 loans by the end of winter, moving in between classes, but I moved 40 loans so quick that I might

go to 100. I'm often half laid. I've reached my 100 floor and that's when the idea of raising men

and now raising women in the lawn care service came about. But I was still more free lawns for the

elderly, disabled, single parents, veterans, but I also include kids locally to come out and move with me.

And that kind of is the whole story on how the organization came about.

It makes sense that serving others can be a powerful experience for those who receive the service.

What exactly is it doing or teaching the one who's serving?

What's teaching the kids? The importance given back. I know growing up, my parents always

seem still to me, that it's important to give back. And I just wanted to pass that on to the next

generation because a lot of kids in this day and age, they're inside playing video games.

So I thought, hey, let's get them away from the video games and let's get them out doing something

positive in the community. And the response has been very positive. A lot of kids, they enjoy

getting out there and making a difference one lawn at a time because I know when I was a kid,

I hate mowing lawns, but God took something I dislike and turned to something I love to do. And every

single day I got to wake up and mow free lawns and in course, the next generation to give back as well.

Interesting. So you used to hate mowing lawns. Yes.

And now you've developed a real passion for it. Yes, sir.

So is it about the mowing lawns part? Is that the part that you've come to enjoy?

Or is it the result of the impact that makes the lawn mowing more enjoyable? Or is it both?

Yeah, I would say it's both because I enjoy mowing lawns now. It's therapeutic and I enjoy helping

people and making a difference and encouraging the next generation. And seeing the smiles that

were putting on the people's faces that we helped because many of them on fixed incomes.

So when we can come mow the lawn for free, then now freeze their extra funds up.

And they can get things that's really important like food and medication and stuff like that.

What are some of the creative ways that dads can raise their kids to be service centered rather

than self-centered? Just look at ways to help the community. You might have a special skill set as a

dad. You might be able to fix cars. You might be able to do something,

paint a building, paint something, or just just so many different ways to give back.

If you see a need in your community, I would say start from that and build from that and encourage

people to support you with that. My way was to make a difference of a lawn mower.

Yours might be the same or yours might be something different. But just find ways to give back

the drift because there are so many ways and there are so many people needing help.

There are people that sometimes call me about like help with removing trees. That's a big thing,

especially for the elderly here in Alabama to remove one tree out of a yard is about three to four,

five thousand dollars. So if you can find a way to give back doing that, that would be a great help

to your community. So just, yeah, I'll just encourage them just to find a way, see what the community needs

and try to fill that need. We are in a society and a culture that is just driven by making profit

by generating income. It's all about what can I get out of something? Yes. So it goes against the grain

to be a type of person that will do a big task for somebody and not expect anything in return.

Everybody is thinking that somebody wants something. So are you ever met with skepticism where

someone's like, what do you want from me? Surely you want something? This can't just be for free.

At the start of the organization, a lot of people were skeptical about this can't be for free,

but after them seeing what we were doing and found out it really is free, they start

warming up to the idea. So I don't fully come across anyone like that anymore because people see

the work that we do and if someone needs help locally, we're there and we're doing it for free.

And our goal is just to encourage others to, because we're going to be going to most of

many loans by ourselves. So to see others jump in the mission and give back as well, that's important

as well. So yeah, that was something that happened at the early stages of the organization,

but I don't really see it that much. Do you ever see that it is contagious that what you're doing

is contagious? Do you ever see it spilling over into other ways where people want to pay that

action forward? Yeah, I mean, I'm kind of this is contagious. People see what you're doing and they

want to do the same thing in their community or they want to make do something different in their

community. So it's, you know, it's like a ripple effect. You do something good, someone sees it and

hey, what he's doing, I want to do the same thing in my community. And so I've seen a lot of that,

and that's that's very good because it's such a need. I get calls from all over the country

of people asking is your organization in my city or my town? And you know, sometimes we don't have

kids that are volunteering in our program in their city. So, you know, I have to say no sometimes,

but you know, to see other people step up and take the initiative and just

see what we're doing and just doing it in their community and that's something special.

I learned a long time ago if you plan to see you can always watch it grow. So that's what we're trying

to do. Let's talk about the spiritual implications of what you're doing. Are they seeing Jesus

through what you're doing? I would hope so because, you know, this whole organization started because

of the Lord. I'm an axon to use me as a vessel. Like I said, he didn't get me answered right away,

but eventually he, he showed me what he wanted me to do. And I've been doing it every day since.

And every ever since that day, I've been doing free loans and I just asked him, I see what you want me

to do. All I ask is Lord, please help provide to this organization. And he has done that since day one.

So I hope they can see the libido of the Lord in me when I'm out there moving loans.

Even when I first started the organization, I wasn't very spiritual, but I knew that in the time of

need, there's only one place you can go and that's, you know, just pray to the Lord and that's

when I ask him to use me as a vessel. And, you know, it's amazing. It's amazing what he has done. You know,

I've seen some things happen and just like, wow, just wow, wow, wow.

Well, let's get to that. Please share some stories of some of the people and communities you and the

kids who've partnered with you have helped. How has it changed lives? And what is your own personal

testimony of how God has worked with you and how you've experienced him personally?

Yeah. So you know, a lot of the kids that they moved for, and the elderly disabled, single parents,

veterans and like just recently, there's a kid named Ken in out in Texas, Midwest City.

He came across an elderly man who's a World War II veteran who just happened to go 100 a few days ago.

And I think a home care worker reached out to his mother because they were hiring

a long care service to move his lawn and they will come every

all the week or something like that. And they were taking advantage of this veteran and they were,

you know, just skimming, skimming his grass and just, you know, taking advantage and

they were charging like $300 a month and, you know, you're a veteran, you're in a fixed income.

That was a lot of money to him. So Ken didn't heard about this gentleman and ever since he's been

moving his lawn for free and they will continue to move the lawn forever until that day comes.

So stories like that, there was a kid named Wesley Yauden, Michigan. He was a very shy,

quiet kid. And mom told me when he first started the organization, but you know, he got to get a chance

to go out in this community and meet different people and help out. And he started to become who he

was supposed to become. And he's, you know, he's open with people. He's friendly. He's talking. So there's,

you know, a lot of stories like that from different kids across the country just wanting to get

out there and make a difference. And they're meeting people. They probably normally wouldn't have met

if they weren't moving these lawns. And they're building long-lasting relationships and they always

check up. Even like the kid, Ken and who I just mentioned, there's one lady that he moves for. You

know, she became like his adopted, adopted a grandmother. They just have a special bond and this

old just came from mom or for me, you know, there's been many people that I've met during my time with

mom or the Wist's lady named Mrs. Gibbs. I probably met her in 2016 when I first started the

organization. And she became like an adopted grandmother to me. And every time I would moan her lawn,

we would sit and chat after I would get done. And we just sit on a porch and talk for hours. And,

you know, she considered me her adopted grandson. And sadly, she passed probably about two years ago.

And that really affected me because we had such a special bond. And there's like, you know, so many

stories like that of different people that I've met personally by doing this. And I also traveled

to all 50 states on different 50 state moving tours that I do. And I've met so many veterans. I've

met so many different people, you know, across my journeys. So these people become family to you.

Yeah. Has it ever united entire communities? Yeah, you could say it has united communities. You see

communities really come out and support the kids especially, you know, every time that I announced

that a kid has completed the 50 yard challenge in a certain area, you know, the community really

backs on that. I've seen like small towns really come out and support kids especially like in Idaho

and Oklahoma. We have a lot of kids in those areas. And every time I say I'm coming to to the state of Iowa

or Idaho or Oklahoma see a kid that finished the challenge, you know, they really come out and support

that kid. So you really see the community back these kids. And one thing I realized that a lot of

kids do after they finished the 50 yard challenge, they are some of them start a business and they become

entrepreneurs, but they still move free loans for those in need. So, you know, I didn't realize that

was something that was happening, but, you know, also created entrepreneurs in a way as well.

Well, that's really powerful. Let's hear some specific stories of the kids that have joined

your program. It was a kid named Andre, you know, he's one of the first kids that start the 50 yard

challenge back in 2016. It just happened, his mother just happened to see me online and see what

we're doing in Huntsville, Alabama. It was Andre and another kid named Quentin. Quentin lived in

Mary, Ohio. He's got Mother Sore, what we're doing in Huntsville, Alabama. And at the same time,

Andre's mother, so we're doing Huntsville, Alabama. And they wanted to get their kids involved with

the program. So that's when I just told them, if your son Andre can complete the 50 yard challenge,

and if your son grants on Quentin to complete the 50 yard challenge, I'll come out there and give

them a brand new more for completing it. Because that first of all was just locally in Huntsville, Alabama.

I didn't really have a tension for it to be out of state. And that summer, in 2016, Andre and Quentin

went on to complete what we call today the 50 yard challenge. And I went out there to them and I

presented them a brand new more. And they were very proud and they were going to continue to help

the community. And ever since, you know, since then, about five thousand plus kids across this country

have signed up for our 50 yard challenge. And, you know, so they were the first two that really

got the bull rolling for our organization in different states. And like I said, it has grown ever

since, we have about five thousand kids spread out the country. There also kids in eight other different

countries that are taking part. So it's not just here in the United States where kids are taking part in

our organization. It's kids around the world that are getting out there and making a difference one

loan at a time. And it's not just lawn mowing. We also include raking leaves and snowshomening as well. So

it's a year-round way for kids to give back to the community. Have you ever run into kids that have

needed a father figure or some sort of a mentor in their life? How has this program provided that

for them? Especially for the kids that came out that come out with me locally to move loans, you know,

a lot of them come from single-parent mother households. So when they can come out and become mentor

them, we can, you know, be that father figure that a lot of them are missing in their lives. So

you see them, you know, really appreciate coming out in a spending time and, you know,

being sure how to use a lot more, you know, someone checking in on them, you know, you see that

it brings a lot of them joy and happiness, you know. I'm not a father myself, but, you know,

too a lot of these kids, you know, they can, they can kind of consider me like a father figure in

their lives. That's amazing. Have you seen some of those kids go on to pay that forward and to become

mentors to somebody else as they develop and grow? Most of the kids locally,

some of them have gone on and become fathers themselves at a young age, but, you know, just to see them grow

up and, you know, take care of responsibilities and be a father to their kids. You know, they do that.

There's another kid locally here named Lamar. He just went off to college and he came from a

single-parent household and, you know, he told me how much

me mentoring him meant to him, you know, so, you know, stories like that always, you know, bring a smile to

me just knowing that I made a difference in Lamar's life. And, you know, he was our first recipient

of our scholarship fund, which we named after Miss Mary Gibbs, who I mentioned a little earlier.

So, you know, yeah, you can say you really had an impact on him. Tell me a little bit more about the

scholarship fund. Yeah, so the scholarship fund was something we started, I believe, this year,

it's in memory of Mrs. Gibbs, who I met, who was at the start of the organization, who became my

adoptive grandmother after all these years of learning her own. I just wanted to

do something special for her and her family after she passed away. And I named our first

ever scholarship fund in her memory. And the goal is to award a thousand-dollar scholarship

to kids in our program that finished a program that are going on to college, so either

they're in their senior year or, you know, they're in their first year of college. We want to help them out

and my goal is to hope that over the next few years, we can keep growing it and growing it.

And we can give even more money out to these kids that take part in our program and want to go

on to college. It doesn't have to be a four-year college. It can be a trade school because, you know,

we need, we also need people to work in different trades. So, that's important as well. So, I tell

kids, if you don't want to go to a four-year college, please consider going to a trade school and

learn a trade because we all need a skill so we can live life. Do you ever think that she could

have imagined the influence that her connection to you would have on future generations?

I do remember she done a video because I was on the Clady Clarks and she'll once. And they wanted

to interview different people that I moved for. I believe her daughter submitted a video.

And she made a nice comment. It was like a 30-second video. And she said,

I really hope that he continues on with this. So, you know, that really touched my heart. So,

I guess you can say that she saw what we were doing and it was very proud of me.

I think she very likely had a vision of its potential. And

because of her relationship with you, she had faith in you. She knew that what you were capable of.

Yes. And I think that it gave her a sense of confidence that possible yet impossible things could

be accomplished through this program. You saw that every time, you know, we have more her lawn and

when the kids will come out with me and mow her lawn, you know, she was very happy to see the kids

probably more than me. You know, she'd like to sit down with them and ask them how their day was

going, how their summer was going. And she really enjoyed that because, you know, she didn't

have too many visitors just her family. So, when the kids can come by and just sit in the porch

and we just talk, you know, it meant a lot to her. Something else that I think is fascinating

about what you're doing. When people are stressed about the necessities of life and you could

consider having keeping up your property as being a necessity, especially in some places where

there are city ordinances or there may be associations that require that and you can be reported if

you're not keeping that up. That's just if you're having trouble making ends meet, you're having trouble

financially, all of these things are adding up. That's stressful on your life and it takes up a lot

of bandwidth emotionally and it makes it very difficult for some people to be focused on connections

with others when they're just stressed about basic things of survival. Yes. And it may be due to

financial reasons that they can't keep up their property. It may be to physical reasons or both.

And so when you're coming in there and you're just taking care of that and you're freeing up

that bandwidth, I imagine you've seen people just become change. They're different people. They

come out of shells and the relationships get formed. I mean, it seems like such a small act,

but man, I can't even imagine the possible impact that it has when that person is freed up.

That little part, they were stressed over is gone. Yeah. You see that a lot because like I said earlier,

a lot of people that we move for the hourly, disabled and the fixed income. So they have to make a

decision, do I get my food and medication or do I pay someone to mo my lawn so I don't get fine by

the city. So when we can come more for free, they freeze them up of so much stress. Stress them.

Oh no, what am I going to do? So when we come more for free, they're now freezing them up and they

can get what's important to them. They can get that medication that they really need. They can get

their food so they can live for that week. So you see that it frees them up, they become

the stress free. So that's the goal. And that's the goal of the organization just to keep continue

to grow because there's so many people living paycheck to paycheck, living on a fixed income that

needs help, you know, they need it. And all goes is to find ways to help them out and expand the

organization and get more kids involved so we can help them. There's another way that you're being

very impactful and you're teaching an important value of looking out for other things to do around

your community and not waiting for the government to come in and provide that solution. A lot of people

think that that's that is the solution all of the time is that the government or some government

agency is supposed to provide services or they're supposed to solve all of the problems of the community.

And while they the government may actually play a role in that and to some degree you're paying

taxes, those taxes should be utilized to do something. But it's it's never going to be enough. It will,

the government will never be able to to provide everything that everyone in a community needs nor was

it designed to people are being taught kids are being taught. Hey, you have energy, you have two

hands, you have two feet. There's a problem over there that needs to be solved that you are able to

solve right now. Yeah. And there is no need to wait on some organization or some government

department to come in here and solve that when you can step in and just take care of it. Take

care of your neighbor, take care of your community. And if we did that, we are lightening the load on

so many other organizations. You're getting the health benefits of good exercise, good mental health

because you're connecting with your community. There's so many residual benefits to what you're doing

that go way beyond just as one simple act that you're doing. Yes, sir. Yes. And we can't like I

said, we can't wait on that government assistance. We have to take that initiative to help our

community because if you wait on the government, you don't know how long it will be waiting for.

So if you see a need, I encourage people to get out there and fulfill that need. And don't worry

about how you're going to fund that because once you start doing the work, the community will support

you so if you can come together as community and help each other, you don't have to worry about

the government because they're going to do so much. You know, we don't we don't need to rely on the

government for every single thing we need to take an initiative and we need to help our own communities

out and we can get the job done faster that way. So I encourage people, you know, see a need,

fulfill that need and get to work, you know, it's important. How can dads listening learn more

about raising men and women, lawn care service? How can they get involved and get their kids involved?

Yeah, so if you want to learn more about our organization, you can go to brrraisingman.com or

raisingman and women.com and you can go in there and simply sign your kids up. With them doing

the 50-year challenge, re-also in Courage, you know, fathers, especially, you know, do the 50-year

challenge along with your kid. That's some special bonding times. There was a grandfather that was

taking part in our 50-year challenge along with his grandkids and he told us doing that whole time

they were doing the 50-year challenge, you know, there's a moment that he cherished because otherwise

those kids would probably be inside playing video games but they were out this time, mowing lawns and

he was showing them how to use a lawnmower. So, you know, I encourage you to do the 50-year challenge

alongside with your kids so you can spend that much needy quality bonding time, special moments

that you can cherish forever. But you can learn about the 50-year challenge on our website at re-arraisingman.com or raisingmanandwomen.com.

If someone in this listening audience would like to support what you're doing financially,

is there a way they can do that? Yeah, so on our website, there's many ways to help and support

the organization by donating. They can donate funds or they can go to our Amazon whistlist. We have

lawnmower, weedies and lures because our f/d-r challenge is set up by the Courage system. Every 10 lawns,

they mow the kids mow, they got a different color t-shirt so they style a white t-shirt. Once they

mow 10, they get an orange, 20-year-uns of green, 30-of-blue, 40-year red, and 50 lawns turns

up black and then once they mow 50, free lawns in the community, we get them a brand new mow, weedied and

blower which come from my Amazon whistlist. So, people go on there and they just buy those items and

they're sent to us and then every time a kid completes the 50-year challenge, I personally get

in my van and I drive for them and they present them these items. So, if they want to learn how to donate,

they can just go to the website and there's many different ways to donate.

Rodney, as we close, what is your challenge to Dad's listening now?

My challenge to you is you know, find a way to make the world a better place. There are so many people

that need help with so many different things. I encourage you to look around your community and if

you see a need, try to fulfill that need. We go all make a difference for me. I've chosen the

lawnmower to make a difference with and encouraging kids. You can find a need in your community and

you can encourage a community support you but get back so just find that need and let's

let's stand together and let's make a difference. Rodney, it has been an honor to hear your story

and for you to come on the program and share what you've done and how you've impacted the community

and how so many others are doing the same. Thank you so much for encouraging Dad's in this audience.

No problem. Thank you guys for having me on today. I really appreciate it.

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Fatherhood Challenge. If you would like to

contact us, listen to other episodes, find any resource mentioned in this program or find out more

information about the Fatherhood Challenge. Please visit thefatherhoodchallenge.com. That's thefatherhoodchallenge.com.

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