If you ask a lot of teens what they did while they were in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, I bet many will tell you they binge-watched their favorite shows or spent a good amount of time on their phones. Isn’t that what teens do?
But not one teen from England. He used his time wisely and others are reaping the rewards.
Joseph Beer often saw a lot of neglected street signs and overgrown bushes and weeds when he would go on his daily walks with this mom. Instead of just leaving them alone and letting someone else worry about them, he took matters into his own hands.
Beer, who has autism and ADHD, usually spends time at a residential, therapeutic school during the week, but the pandemic didn’t allow that to happen. His idea to start this cleaning project gave him the routine he was missing since the school shut down in March.
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With his dad’s help, he made it his mission to improve the way things looked. His dad helped him rig up a trailer to put on the back of his bike.
Every day, he rode around the streets near his house, looking for areas that needed improvement, and there were plenty.
Some of his daily tasks included scrubbing street signs covered in moss and cutting down shrubs that started covering signs, making them a hazard.
His parents are rightfully proud and are just blown away by what he’s done. His mom tells the Good News Network, “He comes back absolutely filthy, and still carrying the bucket of water, which by the end of the day has turned black from all the cleaning he’s done. Then he’ll hop in the shower and get ready to do it all again the next day.”
His parents weren’t the only ones who noticed all of his hard work.
Many people thanked him for all he did, including a driving instructor who was extra thankful that he took care of the weeds covering the traffic signs. Beer was proud of what he accomplished too. He started sharing pictures on his Facebook page writing, “I’ve found it really satisfying to look at the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures, and see the obvious improvements I’ve made to my hometown.”
Besides getting words of gratitude and pats on the back, one neighbor went the extra mile. He started a GoFundMe to thank Beer for all he did.
The campaign has raised more than 1,200 pounds to date. While you may think Beer pocketed that money for a job well done, he didn’t. He donated part of the money to a local food bank to help families who are having trouble putting food on the table during these tough times. He plans to use the rest of the money to buy tools to help him continue his cleanup.
Now that’s the definition of selfless.
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