Daily Times

A group of New Jersey teens are putting down their landscaping expertise to good use by serving their community during the coronavirus pandemic.

14-year-old Matthew Sullivan had three goals in mind during the COVID-19 pandemic: stay busy, make money, and help others.

In his effort to put his skills to use, Sullivan started his own lawn care business with the help of his friends Christian VanderGroef, CJ Piccola, and Eric Ottaiano.

He’s expanded his business by employing other 13- and 14-year-olds for mulching, , leaf blowing, wedding, planting and fence painting.

He’s expanded his business by employing other 13- and 14-year-olds for mulching, weeding, leaf blowing, weeding, planting and fence painting. The business, Leaf-It-To-Us donates 10% of its proceeds to a local Morris food drive.

On June 27, Sullivan and his partners Christian Vander Groef, Eric Ottaiano and CJ Piccola, presented local charity Help MorrisNOW with a $500 check, and also volunteered at the food drive.

Though the company had originally been donating proceeds to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, it switched to a local foundation in its community this season.

Sullivan predicts that the company has made more than $8,000 total since its inception last summer and $5,000 since this April. Last year, they completed around two to three jobs a week. This year, they’ve scaled up to two jobs a day.

The teenagers, who have a daily work timetable, use their own tools and ride their dirt bikes to each job. The services they provide range from planting, weeding, mulching, leaf blowing, and much more.

“As a parent, we couldn’t be more proud of our kids and what they’re doing,” said Matthew’s mother, Kathleen Sullivan.

Help MorrisNOW organizer Nestor Bedoya commended the teens for their hard work and their contribution to the community.