PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – Every year the Norfolk Naval Shipyard Veterans Employee Readiness Group brings Christmas joy to those less fortunate with their annual Toys for Tots collection.

For 56 days, generous employees and Sailors from the shipyard family provided 919 toys that will be given to children within the local community.

Founding member, Jon Echols, said, “The more we do to support our brothers and sisters, the better our world would be.”

The Norfolk Naval Shipyard is part of the nationwide Toys For Tots effort. Which distributes an average of 18 million toys to 7 million children every year. It’s been an annual tradition for this group for more than 10 years and they hope to make an even bigger difference in the years to come.

This segment of The Hampton Roads Show is sponsored by McDonald’s of Hampton Roads and Northeastern North Carolina.