PHOENIX — Ra’sheen Turpin has been a letter carrier for the US Postal Service in the Valley for nine years. During eight of those, he’s delivered mail in the Garfield Historic Neighborhood.
By now he knows his long-time residents by name, greets those who move in with a big smile and has even watched kids grow up and join his line of work.
On Monday, while doing his usual route he saw Margo, an 81-year-old woman, hauling dead palm fronds across her front yard onto a pile.
“I saw her doing that and I was like ‘oh no’ she shouldn’t be doing that,” Turpin said. “It was just sad to see that. She had no tools that you could see.”
Since he knew about her limited mobility and she wanted to keep her yard in compliance, he snapped a picture and went to social media to put out a call for help on a Garfield Historic Neighborhood page.
Within a matter of hours, neighbors offered to help. Samantha Young answered the call.
“You could just see that she needed help,” Young said. “It was just too big of a job. She’s probably on a fixed income and can’t afford to get her big yard done.”
Young, who offers yard work and other handy work services through her business Clean Sweep House Cleaning, cleaned the front yard in a matter of hours for free.
“If I had known, honestly I would have come sooner,” she added.
Monday was Young’s day off. She said some neighborhood residents, who couldn’t physically help, sent her donations for her time.
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“Maybe that’ll be extra funds for somebody else’s yard,” Young said.
Margo, who asked 12News to identify her as such, was camera shy, but grateful for the helping hand.
“Once the job is done, I’ll be real happy,” Margo said.
Margo said she loved taking care of her yard herself, but three years ago she took a heavy fall that sent her to the hospital.
“I do the best I can. Whatever I can do, I do,” Margo said. “But I can’t do it all like I would like.”
The help came a week after Margo turned 81 years old. She said others had helped her in various ways in the past.
She and Young, are appreciative of Turpin for doing more than just delivering their mail.
“It’s called United States Postal Service, people forget the ‘service’ part,” Turpin said. “We’re here to help. It cost nothing to be kind, nothing.”
Young will be back on Tuesday to finish the yard work, anyone who wants to help can reach her at 602-657-8507.
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