Stories

Celebrating International Volunteer Day with Action, Not Just Words

KBR's spirit of giving back shines brightly around the globe. From beach clean-ups to food banks, tree planting to donating essential supplies, our team is dedicated to making a difference in big and small ways. As we celebrate International Volunteer Day, take a moment to read about some of the incredible ways our team is contributing to communities around the world.

KBR Kids Day

KBR was delighted to sponsor Buffalo Bayou Partnership’s (BBP) KBR Kids Day, a free public event that invites the community to enjoy a day of entertainment and learning. KBR volunteers welcomed thousands of children and their families at Tony Marron Park in Houston’s East End to experience a full day of fun. The event features a range of activities, including hands-on nature workshops, a birds of prey show, pumpkin painting, a rock climbing wall, dance performances, and an opportunity to see BBP’s Bayou-Vac trash vacuum boat..

St. Jude Walk/Run

KBR is dedicated to the mission at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. This September, KBR was the presenting sponsor of the St. Jude Walk/Run event in Houston. The event, which took place during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, provided attendees the opportunity to raise funds either individually or as a team. KBR employees and their families volunteered in the Family Fun Zone, where kids of all ages could enjoy games and activities. Meanwhile, the KBR race team raised more than $5,000 to support the cause.

Beach Cleanup

To commemorate World Cleanup Month, more than 80 KBR team members from the Houston and Clear Lake offices participated in a beach cleanup event at Galveston Beach. The event was organized by KBR's employee resource groups along with the general counsel leadership team. Their collective efforts contributed significantly towards maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of Galveston Beach, reflecting KBR’s commitment to environmental conservation.

Thanksgiving Food Drive

KBR’s Wilmington, Delaware, office spearheaded a Thanksgiving food drive to support a local food bank serving the surrounding county. More than 100 employees gave nonperishable food or monetary donations during the event, organized by Bernadette Bradley and Christin Chambers. The money raised was used to purchase some of the food banks’ most requested foods including staples like cereal and pancakes. This successful effort demonstrated a strong community spirit and commitment to supporting those in need.

TSSC ASPIRE Team Hygiene Packs

KBR’s ASPIRE employee resource group in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, recently put together emergency hygiene packs for a local homeless shelter thanks to generous donations from colleagues. The hygiene pack collection effort was a TSSC (Technical Services Support Contract) ASPIRE effort that centered out of the United States Geological Survey EROS (Earth Resources Observation and Science) Center. All staff were invited to donate, and then ASPIRE team members assembled the packs at the KBR office in Sioux Falls.

The packs were donated to the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, which welcomes vulnerable and homeless people in the community. They included essentials such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, lip balm, combs, hair ties, socks, shampoo, conditioner, soap, wipes, lotion, deodorant, tissues, razors, shaving cream and more. The ASPIRE group expressed their gratitude for the donations, which will significantly assist those in need.

Rebuilding Together Event

On a Saturday in October, 15 KBR volunteers utilized their amazing skills to make a positive difference in an elderly homeowner’s life. As part of KBR’s sponsorship of the Virginia Rebuilding Together affiliate, the KBR team installed and replaced doors, patched concrete, caulked windows, cleared out brush, and made improvements to a bathroom and kitchen, ultimately completing over 20 tasks.

For more than 13 years, KBR employees have been engaged with the Maryland Howard County Rebuilding Together program, a local nonprofit organization that provides help to homeowners in the community who are generally older or incapacitated in some way. 

In 2022, KBR expanded this support to the Virginia affiliate, and this was the company’s second event in Virginia. Every year, the team chooses a homeowner in need, and volunteers from KBR perform a variety of tasks. Over the years, KBR employees and family members have rolled up their sleeves to improve the safety and health of these owners and their properties, usually in just one day.

Food Bank Collection in Honor of the Mid-Autumn Festival 

The Mid-Autumn Festival, traditionally a time to celebrate the successful harvesting of rice and wheat, has evolved into a symbol of harmony, unity, and reunion among friends and family. 

KBR’s Leatherhead, U.K. office celebrated with a fun-filled lantern-making workshop and snacks — including the mooncakes that are synonymous with the festival.

In the spirit of the festival's essence — celebrating a bountiful harvest and sharing of blessings — the team also organized a food collection benefiting the Trussell Trust Food Bank. The collection positively impacted the lives of those in need while exemplifying the spirit of togetherness and community contribution that the festival embodies.

Breast Cancer Awareness Marathon

The KBR-AMCDE Khobar running team recently took part in a marathon to raise awareness for breast cancer. The local IMPACT chapter coordinated the 20-member team, KBR’s early career professionals’ employee resource group. 

“It was a fantastic experience. The organization and weather were so wonderful, which made it a great day,” team member Turki Alammari said. 

Additionally, KBR’s ASPIRE employee resource group, which is committed to the development of women and the promotion of gender diversity, arranged a session with a specialist to speak to the KBR AMCDE team about breast cancer. Fifteen women attended the informative session, which encouraged proactive steps for breast cancer prevention.

Seeds of Sustainability

In a joint effort with the Abu Dhabi Municipality and the Abu Dhabi IMPACT team, KBR employees participated in a tree planting day to celebrate environmental stewardship and commitment to a more sustainable future. The team met in a public park and planted 100 beautiful flowering trees, demonstrating the power of collaborative efforts. Notably, this campaign has extended beyond Abu Dhabi, with KBR's Iraq office also actively participating by planting trees in the Basrah Majnoon Oilfield. Additionally, KBR contributed 20 trees to the FOC building to enhance its surroundings and cultivate a culture of environmental responsibility and sustainability.

This commitment to a greener environment aligns with UAE's broader sustainability initiatives, including projects such as the National Day Mangrove Project, through which 10,000 mangrove trees will be planted across the UAE, and individual efforts by residents to plant hundreds of trees.

KBR Abu Dhabi Team Helps Bring a Smile to Kids 

A team of 13 KBR employees in Abu Dhabi dedicated their weekend to assist at a book sale for Operation Smile, a charity that provides crucial support for children with cleft lips, the third most prevalent birth defect globally. In as little as 45 minutes, free, safe surgery can give a child a chance to live a normal life. It was a fantastic time as they helped raise money for the organization.