Giving Back, Building Community
The KBR Team of Teams
in Action
In addition to delivering solutions that matter, KBR people do things that matter in our communities. All around the world, all year long, giving back is a big part of who we are. Here are just a few examples from across our global business in 2022.
“In Infrastructure Services Australia, our vision is to become the partner of choice by putting people and customers first. To do this, we are creating an agile organization where our employees are able to have their best day of work every day, no matter where they are. We want to develop and nurture great leaders at all levels, create a digital and data-driven organization, put our customers at the center of all our decisions, and create execution excellence by delivering our projects on time and within budget. It’s an exciting time to be part of Infrastructure Services as we begin to reimagine our organization.”
– WAYNE NOLAN, VICE PRESIDENT, INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES AUSTRALIA
The Gift of One’s Self
Brenda Oden – Senior Manager, Risk Management
While Brenda Oden’s commitment to helping others precedes her time at KBR (she’s been a part of the team of teams for 17 years), she is a shining example of KBR’s commitment to community engagement and making a positive difference in people’s lives.
For the past eight years, Brenda has been a volunteer with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in the U.S. that helps fulfill the wishes of children living with critical illness. Before that, she served as a child advocate, court-appointed volunteers that advocate for children who are victims of child abuse or neglect and help guide them into safe environments.
Through Make-A-Wish, Brenda has helped grant more than 200 wishes and has been honored to meet some of those amazing and courageous children, several of whom were organ transplant recipients.
“These kiddos filled my heart in a way I didn’t think was possible,” Brenda said. “They’ve persevered through some of the hardest things in life and continue to do so daily. I watched them and all the things they do to promote organ donor awareness, and I wanted to know more.”
Brenda pictured with some of her Make-A-Wish children and with Larry, the original potential recipient who received a kidney donation thanks to Brenda’s voucher.
After doing extensive researching and talking with her family and doctor, Brenda decided she wanted to be an organ donor. She found a donor registry called MatchingDonors.com and was on the registry for a few years before she was contacted — on her birthday — by a man who needed a kidney. However, after thorough testing, doctors found Brenda and her proposed recipient weren’t a match. Despite the setback, they became close and remained friends.
Brenda was eventually matched with a different recipient in Tennessee and donated a kidney on September 27, 2022. Providentially, she’d made her donation as part of a voucher program through the National Kidney Registry (NKR). The program allows a living kidney donor to choose the most convenient timeframe for their kidney donation surgery and to provide one or more vouchers to people who can then be prioritized to receive a living donor kidney through the NKR if/when they need a transplant. The voucher went to her original recipient, who received a living donor donation a month later on October 27.
Thankfully, Brenda’s recovery has been fantastic. When asked if she’d do it all over again, she responded, “Without a doubt!”
The experience has also made Brenda an advocate for organ donation. In addition to organ donation, she is now a body donor for science care, which will allow medical researchers and educators to practice, learn, and create new techniques that will help improve and save other lives. While the decision to donate isn’t for everyone, Brenda encourages people to educate themselves and consider being donors.
“For me, it’s an opportunity to look beyond ourselves to see how we can help others in need and future generations.”
Learn more about organ donation by visiting the following.
https://www.sciencecare.com/ https://www.matchingdonors.com/ https://www.donatelife.net/register/ https://bethematch.org/
At KBR, we partner with government and industry clients to provide purposeful and comprehensive solutions with an emphasis on efficiency and safety. With a full portfolio of services, proprietary technologies and expertise, our employees are ready to handle projects and missions from planning and design to sustainability and maintenance. Whether at the bottom of the ocean or in outer space, our clients trust us to deliver the impossible on a daily basis.
EMEA
Across the EMEA region, KBR’s team of teams continued to build relationships with local charities and communities and delivered a range of events, sponsorships and donations throughout the year.
In June, Leatherhead employees organized a donation drive to help those suffering from the Ukraine crisis. There was an overwhelming response, with more food donations than expected as well as people donating their time to help pack and box the items.
KBR colleagues from the National Service Hub in Swindon, UK dedicated roughly 32 hours every month to The Haven, a local day center and night shelter that provides emergency clothing, food, beds, life skills courses and access to support workers for those in need. KBR colleagues also helped with a variety of tasks including painting and redecorating bedrooms, clearing and organizing the garden, and cooking meals.
KBR colleagues from the National Service Hub in Swindon, UK dedicated roughly 32 hours every month to The Haven, a local day center and night shelter that provides emergency clothing, food, beds, life skills courses and access to support workers for those in need. KBR colleagues also helped with a variety of tasks including painting and redecorating bedrooms, clearing and organizing the garden, and cooking meals.
And in the Middle East, there has been a focus on the environment, in particular supporting the Saudi Green Initiative, which is working toward a goal of planting 10 billion trees and contributing to a 30% increase of land and sea protection. Volunteer activities included providing and planting of mangrove trees and cleaning the waters of a lake and the sea.
Supporting the Veteran Community
The Armed Forces Community ERG raised £10,000 in 2022 through events like Combat Stress Football Tournament, Wing Walking and the Med Ball Challenge
KBR raised £800 for BLESMA, a charity supporting veterans who’ve lost limbs, through Leatherhead’s Screen on the Green
KBR was the co-lead sponsor for the 38th annual Army Ten-Miler, which helps support U.S. Army outreach, build morale and promote physical fitness
More than $1 million was raised at the 16th annual KBR Charity Golf Tournament, which supported veteran-focused charities including Blue Star Families, PTSD Foundation of America, and the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation
Government Solutions U.S. (GS US)
In GS US, our teams got ready for the holiday season by giving back to the communities where we live and work.
KBR volunteers and family members from across all three GS US business units supported a Rebuilding Together event on October 22 in Alexandria, Virginia. The project involved helping repair three mobile homes to improve access and safety for the homeowners. Local KBR organizer Phil Montag, vice president of Science and Space, worked directly with Rebuilding Together Virginia executive director, Patti Klein, to select the homes the KBR team would support. Phil was told those with mobile homes are some of the most ignored people in need. The completed repair work has made an immeasurable impact on those homeowner’s lives.
In Huntsville, Alabama, teams from across GS US got together to celebrate Thanksgiving with their colleagues with a festive meal. When the event was done, our people delivered leftovers to the First Stop, which serves the underprivileged all over Huntsville.
In Huntsville, Alabama, teams from across GS US got together to celebrate Thanksgiving with their colleagues with a festive meal. When the event was done, our people delivered leftovers to the First Stop, which serves the underprivileged all over Huntsville.
In November, KBR employees in the Washington D.C. area took donations for the Walter Reed at Forest Glen (FG) Annex Fisher House, which builds comfort homes where military and veterans' families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. Since its inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $500 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation. In addition to providing pantry needs for the Fisher House, employees also donated to the Fisher House NICU baby bag program, which donates baby bags filled with all the essentials for families who are under the incredible stress of having an infant in the hospital.
In November, KBR employees in the Washington D.C. area took donations for the Walter Reed at Forest Glen (FG) Annex Fisher House, which builds comfort homes where military and veterans' families can stay free of charge while a loved one is in the hospital. Since its inception, the program has saved military and veterans’ families an estimated $500 million in out-of-pocket costs for lodging and transportation. In addition to providing pantry needs for the Fisher House, employees also donated to the Fisher House NICU baby bag program, which donates baby bags filled with all the essentials for families who are under the incredible stress of having an infant in the hospital.
Sustainable Technology Solutions – India Technology Center (ITC) Locations
Our colleagues in India are always thinking of new and creative ways to make a meaningful difference in their local areas.
Earlier this year, KBR launched mobile health care vans in partnership with HelpAge India, a leading charitable organization focused on care of the elderly. This project makes medical care accessible to underprivileged populations in rural India, as well as in and around all three KBR ITC offices in Gurgaon, Pune and Chennai.
On March 8, a school supplies donation drive was organized by ASPIRE Gurgoan in celebration of International Women’s Day. The ASPIRE board visited a nearby school and interacted with underprivileged kids through games followed by the distribution of stationery. A follow-up drive was organized to celebrate Children’s Day in November. Books, chocolates and stationery were distributed to kids near KBR’s Gurgaon office through a nonprofit called UPAY (Underprivilege's Advancement by Youth). Additionally, on Women’s Day (March 12), ASPIRE Pune held a donation drive for the children at Dharmavir Shambhuraje Pratishthan Orphanage and Old Age Home in Hadapsar, Pune. The team visited the orphanage and donated stationery and books.
On June 8, KBR team members in Chennai celebrated Environmental Day by distributing 400 plants among employees. Additionally, tree plantations were also donated to Chennai Corporation School as part of community give-back initiative.
In August, yet another donation drive was initiated by team Bunglehead, who collected sports equipment for underprivileged children in the community. The impetus to collect sports equipment was India’s remarkable performance in the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The donation drive was extended into Diwali at KBR’s Pune office. A variety of sports equipment — including shoes, footballs, badminton rackets, skates and backpacks — were collected and delivered to the mother of an underprivileged player in the community on Diwali day. In October, members of Gurgaon’s corporate social responsibility team also visited the mobile health care van stationed at Damdama village in Haryana and donated new sporting goods to area children.
And on September 17, about 30 KBR employees from Chennai and their kids come together to lead by example and work toward a trash-free coastline. Several government and private organization also participated in the beach clean-up, which collected as much as 157 kg of trash was collected.
