Amid COVID-19, KBR Employees Rally to Help Colleagues and Neighbors
The global coronavirus outbreak has been a tremendous change to the way we all live and work, but that has not put a stop to the charitable spirit that is at the core of KBR people and our company. Even in these hard times, KBR employees around the world are making an impact in their local communities and for their colleagues abroad no matter the miles between them.
KBR Employee Collects Sanitizers for London Assisted Living Home
When KBR’s Stuart Holmes was asked to work from home at the onset of the pandemic, he took action to ensure that hand sanitizers in KBR’s soon-to-be empty Leatherhead, UK campus were put to good use. He gathered up sanitizers from desks – with the approval of the local KBR Real Estate Services (RES) team – and brought them to an assisted living home in London where his father is a resident of 10 years. At the home, Emel, the registered manager, was extremely grateful of Stuart’s donation as many health care products were hard to come by. Stuart knew the 12 bottles he collected would not last, so he made another call to the RES team to round up more supplies, including paper towers and cleaning wipes, for the home.
“The home looks after 42 vulnerable people and many staff members,” said Emel. “We do our best in these difficult times and KBR’s thoughtfulness is very touching. My team’s thanks go out to all of you. We are so very grateful.”
One KBR Effort Delivers Facemasks for Fellow Colleagues and Frontline Workers
Last month, employees at KBR’s Beijing Technology Center lacked much needed facemasks in the office and were unable to source any in the local area. Upon hearing this, their teammates teams in Houston, Seoul and Dubai used resources and connections across the world to procure facemasks and ship them to China. This included securing facemasks from South Africa to using a colleague’s airline pilot friend to personally deliver facemasks to Beijing.
Meanwhile, despite social distancing and staying in their homes, employees in the U.S. used their creativity and talents to make and distribute homemade facemasks for hospitals in their local communities. KBR’s Guy Burnette and Louise Blake employed the help of their family members in making more than 1800 facemasks combined. Guy and his family of Jacksonville, FL, made and donated do-it-yourself facemasks to hospitals, health care workers and U.S. Navy personnel while Louise and her family made facemasks for their friends and neighbors throughout Houston.
KBR Engineers Utilize 3D Printers to Fight COVID-19
Engineers at the KBR office in Oklahoma City, OK, have been working for the past month to manufacture and distribute 3D printed masks to medical personnel and first responders. Based on the Billings Clinic Foundation design, the group has made 100 facemasks and are working with the Oklahoma City Police Department and several hospitals, nurses and doctors across the metro area to get the masks to those who need them. The group has also used personal connections across the country to distribute design files to print more masks, including medical professionals in Colorado, Virginia and Tennessee.
A special thanks to our employees for their leadership, teamwork and collaboration in executing this effort.
“This was an opportunity of a lifetime to work from home and now I have a production line going in the background,” Aileen said. “I am now considering getting a second printer to step up production if needed.”
She added, “The feedback I have received from frontline workers about the lack of personal protective equipment available was heartbreaking. Now I can say that I’ve done something about it!”
Helping the Homeless in Chennai
With shelters and food banks closed throughout Chennai, India, KBR’s Ragupathi Gnanasekaran helped create a network of friends and family to provide food and drink to the homeless population in the city. The group has raised funds to buy food, water and groceries as well as organically grow and cook the food, package and then distribute to those in need since late last month. They serve approximately 150 people a day, including lunch and dinner, and they also offer drinks to janitors, security guards and policemen while on duty throughout the city.
In addition to their efforts, the team created an organic sanitizer from a combination of neem leaves paste and turmeric powder diluted in water to disinfected homes and streets.
Ragupahti added, “As the saying goes, ‘Helping hands are better than praying lips,’ we are doing our part as ‘helping hands’ and will continue doing these charitable contributions to our community.”
“Seeing our employees rally to support their colleagues, friends, family and frontline workers has been heartening to witness,” said Stuart Bradie, KBR President & CEO. “We have seen firsthand that even while working from our homes all around the world, we are a unified team of teams – truly One KBR – in supporting our business, our people and our communities.”
Bradie added, “I want to thank our employees for going above and beyond over the past weeks to ensure that we continue to deliver on our mission. The hard work and can-do spirit is central to KBR and it is truly inspiring.”
Other ways our people have given back to their communities during the COVID-19 outbreak include giving candy and treats to healthcare workers at hospitals, helping deliver groceries to homes and buildings on lockdown, volunteering at food banks and shelters – while maintaining social distancing – and many more. We continue to be amazed by our employees’ efforts to help their local communities, especially during the difficult times we find ourselves in. A special thank you for your efforts and for your commitment to improving the lives of those in need.
