Laid-off advertising executive mows lawns for seniors at no charge

RIDGEFIELD, N.J. - Brian Schwartz of Wayne, New Jersey, spends his days mowing lawns. He has been doing this since he got laid off in mid-June.

"I decided on a whim to put my name out there in some shape or form to help out with tons of bad news going on," he said. "I just wanted to do something good."

Schwartz, a former VP of an ad agency in New York, was let go due to the COVID-19 crisis. He decided to give back while he actively searched for a new job. He created a website promoting his free lawn-mowing service to seniors and veterans in northern New Jersey out of the trunk of his family's Jeep. 

"I just want to do good," Schwartz said. "It feels good, it feels right, following my heart."

On Monday afternoon, we found him in Ridgefield, mowing and trimming the lawn of Roy Hail, who said that his wife called Schwartz.

Hail offered to pay for the gas Schwartz used in the mower but the latter refused.

"Right now I have a link on the website called iwanttomowyourlawn.com that has a link for gas money donations," Schwartz said.

With bills mounting and a newborn at home, Schwartz said he believes in good karma. 

"It's been a really tough stretch the last few months for all of us," he said. "It's stressful and I just wanted to put some good out there."

He now has more than a dozen clients. And as more and more people call him for his services, calls offering help have, too. He has three volunteers helping him out.