By day, Gary Brooks works with the sales connection products team at Hunting Energy Services, but by night he and a group of other like-minded oilfield professionals work to lessen the burdens of industry colleagues who, through no fault of their own, find themselves facing financial crises.
Oilfield Helping Hands (OHH), a nonprofit, volunteer-based charitable organization, was born in 2003 when a group of friends responded to the financial needs of the wife of an oilfield colleague who suffered an infection of his heart. Thirteen individuals from service companies in the E&P field and one small operator responded to her need, sponsoring a competitive clay shoot that raised about $24,000.
“He had been ill for a while, and his wife needed help with the costs of his care not covered by insurance,” said Brooks, who has served as president of OHH’s board of directors since 2014. “A check was presented to his wife, and that was the start of Oilfield Helping Hands. We looked into forming a nonprofit, and we’ve grown from there to where we are today.”
Since then, OHH expanded to five chapters in six states, with over 2,000 members distributing more than $3 million to oilfield friends in need.
The majority of OHH members are in the E&P sector of the energy industry but not all of them.
“We also have members who are in the financial area, directors, past presidents and people who got involved by learning how OHH got started and then stepped up to volunteer,” Brooks said. “Giving those recipients a first check changed their lives and led them to get more engaged in the organization.
“We take a look at what it would take to help the family get back on their feet, to give them a helping hand to get back up and running. Some of them have been injured in disasters, so we help them pay for lodging, food and transportation when they’re going back and forth to the hospital.”
OHH also helps families who are being evicted from their residences, stepping up to pay their mortgages or rent.
“We also help them get squared away with tax issues and things like that,” Brooks said.
OHH relies on the generosity of its corporate members, including IHS, Anadarko, Baker Hughes, Energy Corp. of America, Hunting Energy Services and a host of others that are the “life blood” of the organization, helping it continue its mission of philanthropy.
“We’ve been fortunate over the years to have a lot of good support from our sponsors and corporate members, which has increased the amount of money we give to our recipients,” Brooks said. “But we lost five corporate members this year based on the downturn in the industry.”
Conversely, industry layoffs from that downturn have increased the number of applicants seeking help from OHH.
“One of the advantages of being a corporate member is it allows any of your employees in the lower 48 states to be eligible for help, whether or not they live within one of the chapter areas or boundaries,” Brooks added.
Everyone interested in volunteering with OHH is invited to attend one of its charitable events or a meeting. Meetings are held the second Wednesday of each month at various locations and feature presentations from longtime volunteers and a recipient beneficiary “to add more credence to what our mission is,” Brooks said.
One of those recipients who particularly touched the hearts of OHH members was a woman whose daughter suffers from macular degeneration, an incurable disease that causes blindness.
“That’s what really drives the members to continue to volunteer and support the organization,” Brooks concluded. “It’s very emotional for a lot of people, and that’s why we do what we do.”
For more information, visit www.oilfieldhelpinghands.org or www.facebook.com/oilfieldhelpinghands.