Serve First · Northeast Ohio
Nominate a veteran for a free yard cleanup
Launch League, with Burkhart's Lawn Care, will put one veteran's yard to bed for winter in November, at no cost. Nominate a veteran you know, or nominate yourself.
Launch League with Burkhart's Lawn Care
Done by a local crew, close to home
Burkhart's Lawn Care is a locally owned lawn care and landscaping business serving New Franklin, Barberton, Portage Lakes, Wadsworth, North Canton, and surrounding areas. They do the work; Launch League runs the nominations.
This one is personal. I am a veteran myself, and my nephew Colton works at Burkhart's, so it is also a chance to show him and the crew what it looks like to put a business to work for the people around it.
Who it's for
A veteran who could use a hand
Any veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or an allied force living in New Franklin, Barberton, Portage Lakes, Wadsworth, North Canton or the surrounding area. Self-nominations are welcome.
What gets done
- Leaf removal
- Garden beds cleared
- Perennials cut back
- Lawn tidied
- Debris removed
How it works
Four steps, one yard
Nominate
Tell us about the veteran and why you are putting their name forward.We read every one
Every nomination is read before anyone is chosen.The crew comes out
The chosen veteran gets a full fall cleanup in November, free.Only if they want
The story is shared publicly only with the veteran's permission.
Why I am doing this
I did this once with a lawn mower
In the summer of 2008, when I was 17, I started mowing lawns in Wayne, Medina and Tuscarawas counties. I called it Gonzo's Greens, and I was trying to put into practice what I had been learning about business at the Wayne County Schools Career Center.
My grandmother had just been diagnosed with lymphoma, and I wanted to do something in her honor. So I started a second name, Greens for Means, and asked my customers whether they would add $5 to the bill for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. By August I had raised $200, and a dozen local sponsors were going to have their names on the back of my T-shirt. The Daily Record wrote a story about it on August 9, 2008.
I have never forgotten that a young person with a mower and a small idea can give something back. Now I get to do it again, with a real crew and a real partner, and to show a new generation of entrepreneurs how it is done. I spent ten years in the Air Force, so this one is for the people who served.
Give back first.
A business is more than what it earns. It is also what it does for the street it is on.
Nick Gonzalez
Nominations close November 7, 2026
Put someone's name forward
One yard is chosen. We cannot do every nomination, and we will say so honestly. The cleanup is done by Burkhart's Lawn Care, in partnership with Launch League. Launch League does not endorse any person, business or organization by doing this.
Questions
Straight answers
- Does it cost the veteran anything?
- No. The cleanup is a gift. Nobody is asked to pay, and nobody is asked to sign up for anything else.
- Who can be nominated?
- A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces or an allied force who lives in New Franklin, Barberton, Portage Lakes, Wadsworth, North Canton or the surrounding area. Self-nominations are welcome.
- How many yards will you do?
- One. We cannot do every nomination, and we will say so honestly. Every nomination is read before anyone is chosen, and everyone who nominates gets a reply.
- Who does the work?
- Burkhart's Lawn Care, a locally owned lawn care and landscaping business serving New Franklin, Barberton, Portage Lakes, Wadsworth, North Canton, and surrounding areas, in partnership with Launch League.
- What happens to the information I send?
- A nomination usually contains someone else's name, address and situation. It stays inside Launch League and is shared only with the crew doing the work. Nothing is published, and a story is told only if the veteran says yes.
- The veteran does not know I am nominating them. Can I still send it?
- Please ask them first. The form asks you to confirm that they know and are okay with being contacted, so we are not turning up at anyone's door unannounced.