Returning the Favor

Mike Rowe straps on his helmet and pedals to Minneapolis, Minnesota to meet Officer Mike Kirchen, a bike cop who is bridging the gap between his local police department and the community they serve.

In this episode of Returning the Favor, Mike Rowe and the team head to Peoria, Illinois to meet Carl Cannon, a former Corrections Officer who is focused on keeping youth out of prison.

Mike and the team head to sunny Phoenix and drop into the Joy Bus Diner to grab a bite with Jennifer Caraway; a "rad" Chef who prepares and delivers free gourmet meals to homebound cancer patients in her community.

Mike and the crew mount up and ride into Phoenix, Arizona to spend time on the Robinson Ranch and meet John Robinson - a modern day cowboy who is changing the lives of special needs children by introducing them to horse therapy.

Mike and the crew head to Atlanta to meet Grace Hamlin and the team leading W-Underdogs: an organization that pairs rescue dogs with at-risk children in order to empower the kids while simultaneously rehabilitating the dogs.

In South Jordan, Utah, Mike and the crew return the favor to Tiani Shoemaker Clyde, a formerly single mother easing the burdens of other single parent families by surprising them with "little miracles".

Mike and the team are in Indiana to meet '''the Punk Rock Farmer'' Jonathan Lawler, a produce farmer making incredible sacrifices to ensure hungry people in downtown Indianapolis have access to food.

Mike and the crew touch down in Omaha, Nebraska to meet Drew Gerken, a firefighter who also helps families getting onto their feet by providing them with furniture and household items.

This week, Mike Rowe and the team meet Ronda Paulson - the woman changing the foster care experience for children in Tennessee by way of her organization Isaiah 117 House.

In North Carolina, a courageous group of adaptive athletes led by Zack Paben shows @MikeRowe the ropes of how they overcome their obstacles with More Heart Than Scars.

Mike Rowe and his producers attempt to return a favor remotely amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. With only a few hiccups along the way, the team rewards a NJ distillery owner who pivoted his bourbon production to create hand sanitizer for his community.

Mike Rowe and team sync up to surprise Charity Haygood, an inspiring school principal in Newark, NJ who is providing her students with the resources they need to keep up with their studies while learning at home.

It's a family affair this week on Returning the Favor: COVID Edition as Mike checks in on his Mother Peggy, before attempting to Return the Favor to an amazing 7-year old boy from Maryland who cashed in his life savings to create care packages for at-risk Seniors in his community.

Still sequestered in their homes, Mike and his Producers return the favor to Angela Brannon-Baptiste, a woman who runs a food pantry in San Diego that has stepped up to feed thousands of people needing extra help during this time.

Mike and the team keep on truckin' and surprise Brittnie Transtrum, a woman in Idaho who is providing truck drivers, like her husband, with snacks as they work overtime to deliver the goods we all need.

Mike and the team call upon the assistance of a mythological creature to help surprise Jenna Arcidiacono, a local restaurant owner in Alpine Township, Michigan who is delivering nutritious meals to workers on the front lines.

Mike Rowe and team return a special Memorial Day favor to veteran Darren Atkins who has been providing care packages to the vets in his community of Whitesburg, KY.

This week's favor brings Mike Rowe to Alaska to surprise Toshua Parker, owner of the only grocery store in the remote town of Gustavus who makes weekly 14-hour boat trips to continue feeding his community.

This week Mike Rowe and team zoom to Charlotte, NC to meet Charles Robinson, a minister dedicated to helping feed his community who has started building a community garden that brings everyone together.

Mike Rowe and the team return the favor to Bud Frazier, an ICU nurse in Utah striving to honor and empower the Navajo Nation by delivering much needed supplies to the vast region, which has been devastated by COVID-19.

Mike and the team head to Pigeon Falls, Wisconsin to surprise Jackie Goplin and Beth Stay who started Curds for Kids, a program that connects struggling dairy farmers and hungry kids in their community.

Mike and the team journey to New York City to surprise Jen Baquial and the Sirens Motorcycle Club - a conscientious group of female bikers who are working with the New York Milk Bank to deliver life-saving breast milk to premature babies all over the Tri-State area.

With the 4th of July in their rearview, Mike and the crew make a patriotic delivery to Paula Miritello, founder of My Brother Vinny: an organization that distributes furniture, housewares and clothing to formerly homeless veterans in Westchester County, New York.

Mike and the team grab their virtual sunscreen and head to the Island of Puerto Rico to surprise Isak Romero and Héctor Ibáñez, two recent college graduates who started A Comer Puerto Rico - a network of young people who deliver much needed supplies to struggling seniors and families across the island.

Drumroll please as @Mike Rowe and the @Returning the Favor crew surprise Letitia Hanke and the Next Gen Trades Academy in Santa Rosa, CA. Letitia deferred her musical dreams and started a program to educate and train young women and men find gainful employment in the trades fields while also providing a workforce for local contractors.

@Mike Rowe and the crew head to Pahrump, NV to witness the hottest ticket in town! 95 year-old BJ Irwin and her dance troop the Nevada Silver Tappers: a sisterhood of women in their golden years who put on dance performances to raise money for military groups and local charities.

@MikeRowe and the crew zoom over to Colorado to meet Danny Combs, a third generation tradesman who became inspired by his autistic son to start TACT - Teaching the Autism Community Trades: the first and only trade program in the entire country developed exclusively for individuals with autism.

This week, things get a little rowe-botic as the team returns a slam dunk of a favor in Springfield, OH and meet Karlos and Moses of The Conscious Connect. Karlos and Moses reimagine and redevelop underutilized outdoor spaces in their community for the purpose of education, culture, health, and peace — so that zip codes do not define the success of children, youth, and families.

Mike and the crew head to Knoxville, TN to deliver an extra special favor to Ashley Lynch. Ashley has always had a soft spot in her heart for the senior community, and when COVID-19 hit, she created Sending Senior Citizens Love, a public mailbox setup to collect greeting cards and well wishes to help those most at-risk and isolated feel loved and remembered.

Mike and the crew learn a thing or two this week when they touch down in Virginia Beach, VA to meet Trish O'Brien and George Melynk Jr. With the shift to remote learning, Trish realized that there was a desperate need for children to have their own space at home to do school work that wasn't on the floor, a bed, or crammed at a kitchen table. So she jumped into action and teamed up with local mill owner, George Melynk Jr. to help fabricate and gift over 600 desks to the students in their community.

This week Mike Rowe and the RTF team go for a virtual bike ride in Austin, TX to meet Juan Soto of 100 Bikes For Kids - an organization founded by Juan and his family which provides bikes to kids free of cost while promoting values of recycling, sustainability and community.

This week Mike and the team head to Sarah's hometown of Boston, MA to meet Rocky Morrison. Rocky grew up on the Merrimack River. One day he realized how it had become filled with trash and waste floating around, and his beautiful river had become a wasteland. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, Rocky jumped into action and started the Clean River Project, an environmental community patrol helping restore the ecosystem of the river banks and beautiful beaches to what they once were.

This Veteran's Day @MikeRowe and the gang head to Turner, Maine to honor Dan Waite, a veteran who realized that the outdoors helped him find a sense of purpose and balance. Thus Operation ReBoot Outdoors was born as a way to help others who may be battling PTSD by taking them on hunting and fishing trips to help find relief, focus and camaraderie.

Things are heating up as the team heads to Tucson, AZ to meet Desiree Cook, Founder of I Am You 360. Desiree is on a mission to ensure that the most vulnerable youth and families have their personal hygiene needs met by providing them care kits. These kits help develop self-esteem, confidence, and over all well-being.

Grab the stuffing! It's a socially distant Thanksgiving Parade in honor of Barney Corrigan, a New Jersey man who converted his garage into a free food pantry to feed his neighbors who have been hit hard during the pandemic.

This Giving Tuesday, the crew heads to Mike's hometown of Baltimore, MD to give back to Dawod Thomas. Honoring the legacy of his dad, Dawod created My Fathers Plan, a youth-focused community cleanup program dedicated to cultivating change in the inner-city through community activism, tutoring and mentoring.

This week Mike and the team head to The Big Easy to meet up with Max Steitz and Franziska Trautmann, who after a bottle of wine one night, found themselves frustrated by New Orleans' lack of glass recycling. One thing led to another, and Glass Half Full was born; A grassroots glass recycling program that turns glass bottles into sand and cullet for disaster relief and prevention.

It's a Returning the Favor Special! @MikeRowe and team celebrate the first 100 do-gooders featured on Returning the Favor and Mike shares his personal journey and lessons he's learned as host of the series.

This Christmas, Mike and the team return a milestone favor to Ashlee Smith, a young woman from Reno, Nevada who has been providing toys and hope to children affected by disasters since she was 8 years old.

Mike and the @Returning the Favor crew surprise Shelina Moreda, a motorcycle racing/model/dairy farmer's daughter who is saving animals from the wildfires and other situations in Northern California.