As oil and gas work ebbs and flows in Colorado and neighboring states, a nonprofit group has emerged to help those in the industry squeezed by bad fortune.
They include Amy and Alex Provstgaard of Battlement Mesa, whose son, 4-year-old James, was born with muscle eye brain disease, a form of muscular dystrophy.
When they learned last March that they suddenly needed $2,000 to continue paying for a certified nursing assistant to care for James, Amy turned to the
Helping Hands started in Texas in 2003 to help oil-patch families in critical need of financial help. Since then, the group has helped 250 families, and it has distributed more than $3 million in financial aid since 2014.
The Rocky Mountain chapter — which covers Colorado, Wyoming and Utah — started only last year. But the group came up with the $2,000 for the Provstgaards. The family qualified because Alex is an oil and gas inspector for the Bureau of Land Management.
“It helped us out so very much,” said Amy Provstgaard. “We got through a really trying time with their help, and I’ve always been so grateful.”
To show her gratitude, Amy now does fundraising work for Helping Hands. She said the group is essential for the Rocky Mountain area because it’s such a vast region and sometimes oil and gas families who work there feel cut off and alone when they hit trouble spots.
“This whole area is not so heavily populated, and you can feel isolated,” she said.
The idea for a Rocky Mountain chapter began after the catastrophic flooding of 2013, when so many families were displaced or in need of help, including oil field workers, said Jamie Dandar, chapter president.
The group sets up events and raises funds by collecting money from sponsors and participation fees, Dandar said.
“Funds are awarded as grants to individuals … who have come across hard times through no fault of their own,” Dandar said. “We all need a helping hand sometimes, and our mission is to do just this for fellow industry members.”
So far, Helping Hands has helped five recipients since its inception in the Rocky Mountain region, she said.
Cancer and other health problems ate away at Sherry Barker’s resources, and her attendance working at an oil company in Denver suffered, prompting her to retire.
At the urging of her former boss, the 71-year-old Barker applied for help from Helping Hands, and they have given her close to $10,000.
“They were really a life-saver,” Barker said. “They do a lot of good for a lot of people in the oil industry who really need help.”
Benjamin Malotte, who works for oil company Anadarko in Denver, said one of two huge fundraising efforts for Helping Hands is a clay shooting tournament in Brighton, where industry people get together to have fun and contribute.
Last year, Malotte said, the clay shooting raised more than $50,000.
“I think this group is off to a good start in helping people in the industry,” Malotte said. “We don’t want to forget about them.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley@denverpost.com or @montewhaley
