Donations pour in after lawn care business gets equipment stolen
COVID-19 has cost millions of people to lose their jobs. Scott Briggs used to be a bartender at BarWare in Downtown Memphis. When COVID-19 took over, Briggs was laid off. Looking for ways to provide for his family, Briggs started his own lawn care business called Laid Off Lawn Care.
A unique name brainstormed by Briggs and his wife.
“I was basically trying to find a way to make income again,” Briggs told FOX13. Two weeks in, and Briggs says business has been booming.
“We’re currently booked out for the next three weeks. Today we are talking to a couple of old bartender friends about them coming and helping."
Tami Sawyer Says Stay Home! ✔@tamisawyer
Long Post w/ Ask at the End:
A few weeks ago, I saw an ad for a new lawn company called Laid Off Lawn Care and I hired Scott. Scott had just been laid off from his service industry job and needed a way to continue taking care of his family.
Thursday afternoon, Briggs was completing work at Shelby County Commissioner Tami Sawyer’s house, something he’s done before.
“I’ve been a single person operation for the past two weeks, so I like to get all of my equipment out of my truck before I start my job,” said Briggs. That’s what he did. He unloaded his truck before cutting Sawyer’s front lawn. “I put my equipment up near her front door behind some hedges and mowed the front lawn. When I got done with the front lawn, I went to the backyard and started mowing,” said Briggs. That’s when he realized he left his equipment upfront and went to grab it to bring it to the backyard. “By the time I got around upfront, my equipment was gone.”
$1,200 worth of equipment gone in an instant.
“I was pretty sad. We had just talked on the porch, catching up about how we’re doing in quarantine. Next thing I know, he rang the doorbell. I thought he had a question or something and he said can you check your cameras, someone took my stuff off the edge of your porch,” Commissioner Tami Sawyer told FOX13.
Briggs was disappointed.
“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” Feeling bad about what happened, Sawyer took to social media and asked people for help. “I had a strong feeling that if people heard the story, they would help me support him,” said Sawyer who has over 14 thousand followers on Twitter, 5,000 likes on Facebook, and over 6,000 followers on Instagram. Within hours, all of the money plus more had been donated to Briggs for him to replace his equipment. "Overcome with humility, really thankful that the city of Memphis rallied around the cause,” said Briggs.
“I just loved watching people quickly respond and it really warmed my heart,” said Sawyer. The kind gesture showing that here is more good in Memphis than bad. If you would like to request Briggs lawn care service, you can reach him on his website.
Briggs also plans to donate the excess money to a local restaurant that has been making meals to feed healthcare workers on the frontline.
