VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — USS George H.W. Bush sailors are giving back! Dozens of Navy leaders are spreading out across Hampton Roads to commemorate our 41st president.
Tucked away at Virginia Wesleyan University is YMCA's Camp Red Feather, where nearly 20 Navy sailors spent their Thursday volunteering. The sailors helped prepare the camp to have it ready for kids in the summer.
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Sailors cleaned the pathways for the kids to play, picked up pine cones, built a shed and much more, all so the YMCA can serve over 400 kids a week once school lets out.
The ship tackles projects like this not only to help the community, but to honor the ship's namesake: It was late President George H.W Bush who popularized the phrase, "a thousand points of light," in reference to all the organizations across the country that aim to help their communities.
The YMCA of South Hampton Roads said its operations wouldn't be possible without the help of volunteers.
"We would never be able to make this impact, be able to serve the community and serve the youth through summer camp without partnerships, and without volunteers. Having [the sailors] here makes a huge difference, and their service makes it possible to get camp ready and to make it an amazing experience," said Adam Kahrl, Chief Operating Officer/Executive VP of the YMCA of South Hampton Roads.
The Virginia Aquarium says that since August 2023, 1,488 Sailors have volunteered about 6,000 hours in Hampton Roads.
On Thursday, about 30 Sailors volunteered with the aquarium helping with the store, horticultural team and the theater room. The Aquarium also hosted 20 volunteers in February.
USS George H.W. Bush, which is stationed at Naval Station Norfolk, is the tenth and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.
