Stories

While most people look forward to rest and relaxation after a long work week, KBR employees often spend their weekends a little differently. Volunteering and giving back to the community are pillars of KBR’s culture and foregoing restful weekends for community involvement and volunteer activities keeps many KBR employees busy.  Even on their days off from work, the One KBR spirit can be spotted in our employees.

For a team of KBR employees in Orange, Texas that meant a Saturday morning volunteer shift starting at 5:30 a.m. at the Granger 5K event benefitting the Orange County United Way which helps needy children and youth and also supports families in need. The team directed traffic, assembled and dissembled the start line, distributed water and worked the registration table for the 5K race.

Employees in Orange, TX start their Saturday morning early with a volunteer shift for the United Way

Project Manager, Dustin Maherg, said about his team, “I am very proud of this group and appreciate the opportunity to support our community. Our team is committed to helping others and we support multiple events throughout the year. I am proud to work with the type of individuals who want to give back and are willing to sacrifice a day off to do just that.”

Other KBR employees are giving back in a very different fashion – by cycling 180 miles over two days. The KBR cycling team comes together each year to ride and raise money for charity through participation in the BP MS150, which raises funds for multiple sclerosis research and also to support those affected by the disease. Team KBR has participated since the ride’s inception in 1985. Completing this ride which spans 180 miles between Houston and Austin, Texas requires disciplined physical training and a serious level of commitment to raise donations.

Team KBR participated in BP’s MS150 race and raised over $50,000 for the MS Society

This year Team KBR earned the Mission Possible award, one of only 15 teams awarded this honor out of 250 total, which recognizes teams for both safety and fundraising accomplishments. With 13,000 riders in the event, safety is of primary importance and Team KBR exemplified KBR’s commitment to Zero Harm by riding safely and completing the race with zero injuries. Moreover, this year the 38 members of Team KBR raised over $50,000 for the MS Society.

Also riding for charity was Jim Bowden in the U.K., Director, Business Development, EMEA, who cycled 600 miles from Berlin to Windsor for Help for Heroes charity. The organization supports servicemen and veterans with direct and practical support for the wounded and injured. Jim’s team, Team Sapper, has been cycling together since 2009 and in the last six years have raised £150,000 to support the charity.

Another group of dedicated KBR volunteers hosted KBR’s booth for KBR Kids Day at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston, Texas. KBR is the major sponsor of this free community-wide event, which provides multiple environment-related activities including live animal exhibits and ecological craft demonstrations. Children learn about the importance of protecting wildlife and preserving natural resources – a focus area for volunteering and giving back for KBR. Every year KBR hosts a booth manned by multiple KBR employee volunteers to provide fun activities for the children including making fans with nature decorations as well as handing out buffalo masks, KBR backpacks and pencils.

KBR Kids Day at Buffalo Bayou Park in Houston provides free, family-friendly activities to the community

Judy Brasseur has volunteered at the KBR Kids Day event annually for the past nine years and said, “It is always fun to watch the kids see live turtles and alligators up close and go on a boat ride on Buffalo Bayou. There is entertainment for everyone to enjoy and fun and educational booths to explore. KBR Kids Day has been a wonderful success in providing kids with a hands-on and interesting day of learning about our environment and how important it is to us.”

KBR volunteers display their commitment to Zero Harm – at work and at play.

Halfway around the world, KBR’s Singapore Impact group participated in Batam Build, a Habitat for Humanity Singapore initiative. Seven KBR Impact members took part in this ongoing initiative to build housing for underprivileged families in Batam Island, Indonesia, though contributing financial support and manual labor.

The KBR volunteers worked at the housing construction site, and their labor-intensive efforts made many valuable contributions to the project including digging foundation holes, tying up of reinforcement bars and mixing and casting concrete. In addition to contributing to Habitat for Humanity, the trip was truly a learning experience for the team of KBR volunteers, all young engineers, to practice their engineering skills in the field and all for a good cause.

KBR Impact volunteers, Schuanne Sun and Kaelyn Lim, plant a memento into the freshly cast foundation.

KBR employees are proud to give back to the communities in which we live and work around the globe. Serving together, KBR employees contribute funds as well as their time and energy to complete challenging tasks in order to help those in need. We would like to applaud all of the KBR employees and employee teams who volunteer, exemplifying the true spirit of One KBR.