“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor; if either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

More than 400 Buckner Retirement Services employees and nearly 500 residents lay directly in the path of Hurricane Harvey. That's more than 40 percent of the entire Buckner senior living ministry.

While the communities themselves were fortunate to stay dry and residents safe, 42 team members across Calder Woods in Beaumont and Parkway Place in Houston suffered major losses from the storm, including furniture, clothes, vehicles and entire homes.

But, thanks to the Buckner Retirement family, they didn’t have to recover from these losses alone.

Teams from the three other Buckner senior living communities—Baptist Retirement Community in San Angelo, Buckner Villas in Austin and Buckner Westminster Place in Longview— all sent cooks, nurses, housekeepers and support staff.

Their extra presence enabled local staff, many of whom had spent several consecutive nights at the communities, to begin their own rebuilding efforts. In some cases, relief staff even traveled to employees’ homes to help with cleanup.

“I am amazed by the selflessness of the Buckner family,” said Brian Robbins, vice president of operations for Buckner Retirement Services. Robbins himself made multiple trips to deliver relief staff from across the state, driving more than 1,000 miles during the last two weeks. “This is what being part of a faith-based, service-driven organization looks like.”

To learn how you can help these Buckner Retirement team members recover from Hurricane Harvey, click here.