WILMINGTON, N.C. – Sailors assigned to Virginia-class submarine USS North Carolina (SSN 777) spoke at a reception April 4 for board members and volunteers of “Kids Making It (KMI),” a non-profit youth woodworking program during Wilmington Navy week.
KMI offers a variety of programs to at-risk, low income and disadvantaged youth, including after school, summer jobs and apprenticeships, teaching students valuable vocational, entrepreneurial and life skills. KMI has a particularly special relationship with North Carolina’s crew, as each Sailor who has served on the boat receives a plaque made on site from teak procured from North Carolina-class retired battleship USS North Carolina (BB-55).
“This is our second time visiting Kids Making it,” said Cmdr. Matthew Lewis, North Carolina’s commanding officer, “and it’s a really unique opportunity for myself and the crew to come back here to the organization that Jimmy Pierce runs. It’s important for us because we have a great tie to Wilmington; one, because in 2008, North Carolina, she was commissioned here, and two, because of this relationship that we have with Kids Making it.”
Lee Hill serves on KMI’s board as treasurer, and she spoke to the significance of military representation at the event.
“To me, it is important so that we can let them know how much we appreciate what they’re doing,” said Hill. “And they get to see different lifestyles – none of them in here today are from North Carolina, so they get to see our culture and how we live in the South, and the different ways that we do things because every part of the U.S. does things differently.”
Lewis seconds the importance of military interaction with the general populace through outreach programs such as Navy Weeks because of the awareness it elicits.
“I think it’s important to interact with the Navy and the community together because a lot of things that we do, people don’t always know about and don’t always have that opportunity,” said Lewis. “Part of it is the mutual support, and in this case with ‘Kids Making It’, it’s us supporting them, but them also supporting us.”
“It’s just nice to learn about the people you’re serving,” said Hill. “They’re not just serving their state, they’re serving everybody out there and by coming in and meeting with different people from different organizations, and letting people show them how much we appreciate them – it’s just good for everybody involved.”
Wilmington Navy Week is one of 14 Navy Weeks being held across America in 2019. For more information and a schedule of events, visit the Wilmington Navy Week website at https://www.outreach.navy.mil/Navy-Weeks/Wilmington/.