Outdoors With Erik

An insurance agent who went out to quote Charles's house messaged me about him. Charles is a Vietnam veteran who served three tours and beat cancer 19 years ago, and his yard got so overgrown his house couldn't even get insured. He's caring for his wife with dementia on his own, his furnace is broken, and he had no one left to call. So we showed up in the pouring rain and went to work. He spent 29 years building ambulances because he wanted to help people, and halfway through our cleanup he left to drive a lady to the store. Stay to the end to see what we did to his place, and what he said when he saw it.

When we arrived at this property, we expected to clean up an overgrown yard. What we didn't expect was the story waiting for us. The homeowner has been struggling with Alzheimer's, and his granddaughter has been doing everything she can to help care for him while managing life's everyday challenges. As we spent time with the family, we learned that their refrigerator had failed, leaving them with only a small mini fridge to store food. For most families, something like a refrigerator is easy to take for granted—but when it stops working, it becomes an everyday struggle. We're hoping to change that. Our goal is simple: raise enough money to purchase and deliver a reliable full-size refrigerator so they can safely store groceries and take one more burden off their shoulders during an already difficult season. If additional funds are raised beyond the cost of the refrigerator, every extra dollar will go directly toward other immediate household needs to help support the family. No donation is too small, and if you're unable to contribute, simply sharing this fundraiser can make a huge difference. Thank you for always showing up for the families we meet. Your generosity continues to remind people that they are not alone. With gratitude, Erik

After years of fighting alone — dealing with squatters who destroyed her property, injuries, and county fines she never deserved — Crystal fell behind. With no one to help and limited resources, her electric bill reached $2,000 and her power was shut off months ago. She never asked anyone for help. She just kept to herself and kept going. We showed up to help clear her land — and when we heard her story, we knew we couldn't walk away. Crystal doesn't need sympathy. She needs her lights on. Every dollar goes directly toward restoring Crystal's electricity. $2,000 is the goal. Let's show her that people still show up for each other. If you can't give, please share. It costs nothing and means everything to Crystal. Let’s do this together.

Linda Needs Our Help — She's Given Enough Linda spent years delivering mail to her community. She showed up for everyone. Then, in a short period of time, she lost her neighbor, lost a friend, and buried her nephew — killed while mowing a highway. Her house has water damage in three rooms. Her plumbing needs work. Her yard hasn't been touched in years because she simply had nothing left. We showed up. We cleaned up what we could. But Linda needs more than one day of help. Every dollar goes directly to Linda for home repairs. She delivered for her community her whole life.

Many of you saw the recent cleanup where a kind lady refused our help and instead asked us to help her neighbor who was struggling even more. After meeting this lady, we quickly realized she's been through a lot. Her yard had become overwhelming; they don't have a riding mower, and their push mower is broken. It's almost a 2-acre property, which is near impossible to mow with a push mower. During the cleanup, we also discovered that coyotes had gotten to most of her chickens — something that absolutely broke her heart. Even through all of that, she remained incredibly kind and thankful. I told her I wanted to try and help get them a reliable riding lawn mower so they can maintain the property moving forward and not fall behind again. 100% of donations will go directly toward: • A reliable riding lawn mower • Basic maintenance items for the property • Any remaining funds will go directly back to helping this family If you’d like to help us surprise them together, any amount means the world. Thank you all for continuing to help us change lives one yard at a time. ❤️