MAGNOLIA, Texas – From cleaning up the yard to construction work, a community has rallied behind a veteran in need.
Kenneth Rickley served in Vietnam. Recently, he broke a leg and a hip, and relies on a wheelchair.
Earlier this week, Rickley faced another yet another issue.
“They sent us out here on a call because a man's car broke down in front of his house,” Richard Wible, of S&B Towing, said. “We get out here and find out the man is handicapped and stuck in his Suburban.”
Wible helped Rickley out, but when Wible got Rickley home, he noticed something very wrong.
Wible said, “(We) said, ‘Kenneth, how do you get into the house?’ He said, ‘I get down on the ground, I crawl up the steps, and I crawl into my house to my wheelchair.’”
So Wible jumped into action, recruiting dozens of volunteers, and even arranging donations to help make Rickley's life just a little easier.
“These people here, god bless them,” Rickley said. “They turned around and building me a ramp so I can get in and out, which i needed very much, and they're fixing a few other things around the house.”
The volunteers are even working to help repair a hole left in his home by a tree that fell while he was in rehab. Just a little time and a little effort that means a lot to one man.
Rickley said, “It’s appreciated so much, you wouldn't believe.”
Magnolia Hardware donated the wood for the project. The Patriots of Texas Foundation, which is an organization that helps veterans, also helped cover the cost of those repairs.