A group of New Jersey teens helped brighten the holidays for seniors and folks in need in the Wayne area recently.

According to the Good News Network website, a busload of seventh and eighth graders recently headed out into the community to do chores and rake leaves — free of charge.

The teens wanted to give back to others and teamed up with the nonprofit, I Want to Mow Your Lawn. Started by Brian Schwartz after getting laid off from his advertising job due to the COVID-19 pandemic

While not a surprise, Schwartz said on his website, it left him with the question: What did he do next?

"On a whim, I decided to start a free lawn mowing service for seniors, age 65 and up, in northern New Jersey, where I live, and soon I was harboring a moonshot vision of helping people on a scale beyond just my own part of the country," he writes on the website. "This would mean getting other people involved—advisors, volunteers, landscaping companies, network partners, and donors, too."

It also meant incorporating as a not-for-profit organization.

"Far-fetched? Maybe," Schwartz writes. "But it just seemed to me that given everything we are all dealing with now, the least I can do is cut the grass for elderly neighbors. I know how to cut grass. Virus or no virus, people need this chore done; if they can’t do it themselves, they need someone else to do it."

Using his knowledge of digital advertising, Schwartz decided to go for it and launched I Want to Mow Your Lawn.

Cue to the teens, who partnered with the not-for-profit organization to help out seniors in the area. Then, equipped with rakes and recycled paper bags, the teens went to work, GNN reported.

And like the teens, and I Want to Mow Your Lawn, the Sandpoint Lions Club are all about helping others. The TLDR version: They want every youngster in the community to have a merry Christmas.

To date, the annual Christmas drive has raised $2,063.

The goal for this year’s Toys for Tots campaign is $50,000 — the same as it has been in past years. The Lions make the most of the money by bargain shopping, and with the assistance of generous local businesses.

Sign-up applications are available at the Bonner Community Food Bank and on the door of the Lions Den at 609 S. Ella Avenue right by the caboose in Lakeview Park. They can also be downloaded at bit.ly/3x7md4o.

Registration started Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 17. Those filling out the application are reminded to be sure to fill out both pages and return your application promptly.

As last year, the application form includes information for parents to detail a wish list for each of their children as well as their favorite color and TV show or movie. This allows the Lions to fulfill as many wishes as they can.

Donations for Toys for Tots can be dropped off at the front desk at the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also drop off donations at Columbia Bank’s Sandpoint branch, 414 Church St., or at the Ponderay branch, 300 Bonner Mall Way; and at the Ponderay and Sandpoint Starbucks.

Donations may be mailed to the Sandpoint Lions Club, Box 414, Sandpoint, ID 83864.

Donations made by check are preferred. Be sure to include a note with your check indicating that it is a Toys for Tots donation. If you wish to make an anonymous donation, please include a note.

If the donation is being made in someone’s name, be sure to also include a note.

Information: Sandpoint Lions Club, 208-263-4118