Livonia man edges lawns to keep Flint from being forgotten

LIVONIA, Mich. (WJBK) - Jimmy Crowley from Livonia just wants to make the world a better place.

FOX 2: "What do you say to someone who says one person can't change the world?"

"Ha, I've heard that before, many times," he said.

He is one man, making a mountain of impact. Jimmy is edging lawns, and occasionally cutting grass, in order to help the people of Flint. 

"One person can make a difference," he said. "And then I want the next person to make a difference and the next person to make a difference and the world would be a lot better."

It all started last winter when Jimmy would shovel snow for senior citizens for free. They always wanted to make a donation, so now in the summer when he edges, he had an idea.

"I'll edge a person's yard for free if they bring me a couple cases of water or so," he said.

FOX 2: "And that water goes?"

"To Flint," he said.

A simple concept: Jimmy does all the work, just leave the water on the doorstep.

Initially he stored it in his garage but the stack kept getting bigger and bigger.

So local businesses started helping him out.  Two weeks ago, he dropped off his first truck load.

"We had a total of 10 pallets," Jimmy said. "Nine-hundred fifty-two cases of water."

FOX 2 caught up with Jimmy when he was helping out a 91-year-old World War II vet.

Four cases of water later, jimmy was back on his way - off to the next house for more work, and more water.

"He's got the biggest heart in the world, and he just wants to help people out," said Mayor Dennis Wright. "To me it's contagious and good things come from it"

So Jimmy will keep on doing what he's doing, collecting water, and making another drop off in Flint in mid-September. Just one guy, edging lawns, and in the process smoothing out the edges of life’s hardships.

"I was a C- student when I was in school," Jimmy said. "I barely graduated, I had to go to summer school to pass my education"

"I do want to change the world. I want to change how people think about this world.  That's all."