PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Over 600 toys were collected this holiday season by a veterans group associated with Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
The group, Veterans Employee Readiness Group (VET-ERG), hosts an annual drive each holiday season as part of Toys for Tots. The toys are then donated to children in the community.
“This was an outstanding team effort from all those involved,” said VET-ERG President Josh Wannemacher. “Such a wonderful turnout in the span of such a short amount of time. It shows the type of generous support our employees at America’s Shipyard provides. We couldn’t have done this without all of you who donated and we appreciate all your assistance to give back to our community.”
In 2021, VET-ERG collected 621 toys.
The toys were turned over to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation. Since being established in 1947, the program has expanded to distribute an average of 18 million toys to seven million children annually.
