Making a Difference with Hand and Heart to Assist a Teammate

In the spirit of Bristow Uplift, which aligns Bristow’s business practices with social investments to make a positive difference in the community, Bristow's Information Technology (IT) team rallied around their coworker to rebuild their family home that was flooded in Hurricane Harvey.

The affected family had to evacuate their home during the hurricane and was not allowed to return until roadways were passable 13 days later. What they found when they got there was devastating. Their home had been submerged in four feet of flood water, completely ruining their furniture, appliances and furnishings. Interior walls and floors required complete deconstruction.

Several IT team members immediately wanted to help and volunteered in different shifts over three days to assist with clean-up. Wearing heavy duty work gloves and dust masks, the team went to work pulling up wet tile, sweeping floors and hauling debris to allow the remaining bare floors and wooden studs to dry for the next step of rebuilding.

"Driving through this neighborhood and seeing street after street with every house having nearly 10-foot high piles of water destroyed furnishings at the curb was very sad," said IT Infrastructure & Operations Director Gerry Wilson. "It was heart wrenching to see the homes that, just days prior to this devastating hurricane, held the comforts and personal possessions that once meant so much or held years of memories for these families. I am pleased that our team was at least able to assist and support our Bristow family team member through this."

"I didn't know what I was volunteering to do, but it was for my teammate so it didn't matter," said IT Program Management team member Shirley Morris. "I was not mentally prepared for the devastation in his neighborhood. Here it was, two weeks after Harvey left Houston, and so many were still feeling the immediate effects. It felt good to see my IT team ready and willing to help. It was hard work, but so rewarding."

"The Bristow IT management team and colleagues have been so wonderful during this catastrophic event," said Master Data IT Manager Earl Nichols. "They organized a large team of volunteers to help us begin the long road to reconstructing our home. I was overwhelmed by the level of help and support received from my coworkers, especially with their own busy personal and work lives. The Bristow family is a reality, in my world."

Bristow, through its Bristow Uplift program, is also partnering with All Hands Volunteers, a nonprofit volunteer-powers disaster relive organization dedicated to rebuilding hope for people impacted by natural disasters all over the world. Houston employees are volunteering to support Harvey recovery efforts across the area through October.