The Veteran Employee Resource Group (VERG) is recognizing the hard work and effort of shipbuilders Dwayne Banks (O43), Amy O’Donnell (O43) and Michael Chandler (X21).

The Facilities Maintenance Department (O43) recently donated 30 sleeping cots to the Dreams of Hope Foundation in Newport News. O43 purchased the cots during the 2019 hurricane season for essential personnel who stay on-site when normal shipyard operations cease. To increase the safety of their work area, Banks and his team have been diligently working to declutter the Material Handling Warehouse (Bldg. 103) of unused and obsolete material.

O43 worked closely with the VERG and Simone Dreher, executive director of the Dreams of Hope Foundation, to take custody of the cots. Founded in 2012 by Dreher and her husband Coy, the foundation provides meals, shelter and mental health services to those in need. The foundation, supported through donations and volunteers, has become a staple in Newport News for those who have nowhere else to turn.