NC boy mows lawn for a neighbor recovering from a near-fatal accident

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) – At 12 years old, he isn’t old enough to drive, and he’s years away from voting. 

But Quentin Hines Jr. elects not to dwell on what he can’t do. 

“I feel like I’m helping out the community,” Quentin says. 

Somewhere along the line, a light bulb went on in his head and he realized that kids can make a difference. He does so by mowing lawns. 

“It brings me joy,” he says of his labor of love. 

“The society that we live in today there’s not a lot of people trying to help others. So that’s another reason why I try my very best,” he told Queen City News. 

QJ’s Professional Lawn Care is both his business and his escape. 

“Cutting grass is really a way for me to just like release all my stress,” said Quentin. 

“I’m expecting you to be a millionaire by 18, you got this!” neighbor Pat Perry tells him. 

His list of paying clients has doubled in the last year. Quentin does it for free for seniors and others who are physically unable to mow their yards. 

“I watched him grow up into this,” Perry says. 

She’s watched Quentin grow like a weed since she’s known him. 

Perry was hospitalized for three months after a nearly fatal accident she prefers not to go into detail about.  

But over the past year, while she’s recovered from the traumatic injuries, the boy next door has taken care of her turf. 

Those acts of his kindness sometimes leave Quentin’s mom Shirley Hines speechless. 

“He’s always looking for a way to help someone else, especially when the grass is order. He’s like the grass police of the neighborhood,” said Shirley. 

“One thing that I kept in mind is what goes into the world always has a way of coming back to you,” Quentin says wisely. 

He’s been fascinated by yardwork since he was a toddler, when the sound of his late grandfather’s mower piqued his interest. 

“I would get super happy, I would ask if I could cut the grass with him,” he remembers fondly. 

“My husband would often say, ‘Well I hope when he’s a teenager that he still likes to cut grass, because he’s going to the grass cutter around here,” Shirley says with a laugh. 

Quentin dreams of playing in the NFL and running his own lawn care business on the side. He believes paying it forward leads to good things. 

“Once I started offering to cut the grass for the seniors, that’s when God actually got me my zero-turn [mower] and my other equipment,” he says. 

Donations to his GoFundMe campaign paid for a ,000 riding lawn mower for his business. So far, he’s raised ,800. 

He still loves the smell of fresh-cut grass, and he loves the satisfaction of a job well done. 

And as he’s shown repeatedly, Quentin’s always willing to go the extra yard for someone in need. 

“Give me a hug, I am so proud of you man,” Perry said to Quentin. “You’re doing excellent, my yard looks excellent. I thank you for all the times that you did it when I couldn’t. You know how special you are to me, right?” 

“There’s just so much going on in the world today,” Shirley says. “We overlook some of the people who really need help.” 

Of course, Quentin is far too young to serve our country in the military, but he’s found a way to serve his community. 

“He’s a blessing,” says Perry.