Like many youth his age, Benjamin Hix (he will be a seventh grader this fall) has been busy mowing lawns this summer.
However, unlike many others, he has been on a mission — to complete the 50 Yard Challenge.
"Last summer my cousin in Atkinson told me about this challenge to mow 50 yards for people without getting paid for it. I told my parents (Kim and Ryan) about it and at first they didn't believe it was real," Benjamin said.
However after doing some research, the paperwork was filled out and on July 8, 2024 Benjamin received protective ear and eye ware and a white t-shirt from Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service in Madison, Alabama.
The 501(c) (3) organization provides free lawn mowing to the elderly, the disabled, single parents and military veterans. It is open to youth ages 8-17. After accepting the challenge, youth get a different colored t-shirt after every 10 yards mowed — white for the first 10; orange for the next 10; green for the next 10; blue for the next 10; red for mowing more than 40 yards and finally, black for completing the challenge.
Benjamin's efforts were rewarded last week when Rodney Smith, Jr., founder of Raising Men & Women Lawncare came to Wayne to present him with a new lawn mower, weed eater and leaf blower.
"When I first started, I made fliers about what I was doing and went around town knocking on doors of people that I thought might like their lawns mowed. Some people thought it was a scam, but when others found out what my name was, they were happy to have their lawns mowed," Benjamin said.
While he wasn't able to take any money for his work, some people offered him things such as donuts and pop for his efforts.
He has lots of stories about his mowing experience, including the fact that when he went into one person's backyard and around a fence to mow, a "bunch of wasps came out and I got stung four times."
He also shared that one person had only a very small front yard to mow, "which took only about 10 minutes."
Benjamin said that on average it took him 45 minutes to an hour to mow each lawn and sometimes he did up to four lawns in one day.
"We just loaded the mower up in the back of our mini van and I drove him to where he needed to be. Then he called me and I came to pick him up when he was done," Kim said.
While completing the challenge, Benjamin was required to take before, during and after photos of each lawn.
Lawn number 50 was that belonging to Gary Redden, a military veteran. It was completed last week, marking the completion of the challenge.
After getting part way through the challenge, Benjamin realized "it was going to be a long road, but as long as I do a little bit and keep going, it's going to okay," Benjamin said.
He said that he is going to try to convince his brother to take the challenge in coming years because through the process he has been able to "get to meet new people and help the community."
When not mowing, Benjamin enjoys swimming, 3-D printing and welding and hopes to have some type of career in agriculture when he grows up.
More information on Raising Men & Women Lawncare can be found at weareraisingmen.com.
