Giving back with words

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When Rodney Smith Jr. created the 50 Yard Challenge, he never imagined that writing children’s books would be part of that plan.

Still, Smith Jr. is now an author of four books, including his most recent addition that highlights the 50 Yard Challenge, which encourages young Americans to mow 50 lawns for those who need the help. Kids receive a different colored T-shirt for every 10 lawns they mow, and on their 50th, they receive a black T-shirt and a complimentary lawn mower.

Smith Jr. estimates 500 kids have actually completed the challenge. And now, he’s highlighting some of his experience running Raising Men & Women Lawn Care Service. His fourth book, “The 50 Yard Challenge: How a Simple Act Became a Nationwide Movement,” is his latest work and debuted earlier this winter.

Smith Jr.’s other three books all highlight green industry services from across the four seasons. “One Lawn at a Time” is about mowing in the spring and summer, while “Leaves, Litter, and Leadership” and “The Snow Squad’s Winter Rescue” are respectively about the fall and winter months.

Smith Jr. came up with the idea to write books two years ago. There were parts of the process that proved more difficult than others like finding an illustrator, buying an ISBN number and contending with printing costs. Still, Smith Jr. says writing his book ended up being easier than expected.

“It’s really just sharing my story as if I was a kid,” he says. “That was pretty easy to do. Then I had my aunt, she’s a teacher and has a master’s (degree) in education… edit the book for me.”

The books have received rave reviews. Smith Jr.’s first book, which he says is “like my baby,” earned a Book of the Year award from Story Monsters Ink in its May issue. It features his own experience becoming a champion for spreading kindness through green industry practices.

“It was pretty easy to imagine yourself as a kid,” he says. “Your audience that you’re writing for, that plays a huge part.”

Smith Jr. has a program with preschools across the country where he comes in to read his stories, and each kid walks away with a sponsored copy of the book. He’s also starting a program where the students will hear the story, then pretend they are serving a cardboard version of a character from the story like it’s a client. For example, he says there will be fake leaves scattered around a character’s cardboard house, and the students will race with plastic rakes and wheelbarrows to clean up the mess — much like the characters do in “Leaves, Litter, and Leadership.”

“I think it’s important to show kids kindness from a young age. Instill that in them early in life, and they can grow up and maybe even one day take on the 50 Yard Challenge,” Smith Jr. says. “I really think it’s important to show kids how to give back at a young age, and I think this is a great tool and a great way to do so.”