Shipbuilders throughout the company collected essential school supplies in support of the annual Newport News Shipbuilding School Tools Drive. Numerous individuals, departments, buildings and divisions came together to collect more than 35,000 school supplies.

Getting all these supplies ready for the six agencies NNS Gives supports is no easy task. Two groups volunteered their time this year – the Asian Shipbuilders Including All Nationalities (ASIAN) employee resource group and Business Transformation and Technology (BT&T) employees from T54, T55 and T53. Bettina Soost coordinated the former group to help count, divide, pack and deliver more than 80 boxes of supplies.

“I always look forward to gathering my teammates together for this event,” she said. “Everyone feels great about helping the community and enjoys the teamwork it takes to pack and deliver the school supplies.”

These volunteers and all the shipbuilders who helped and contributed supplies are vital to supporting local children and teachers, ensuring that the agencies NNS supports receive the items on time for the school year.

“The best part of helping with this program is knowing the impact it will have on the children. Each year, they rely on NNS to provide the supplies, and every year we deliver.”