NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today its donation of $2.1 million to the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula. The donation is a combined contribution from the HII corporate office and its participating employees, as well as donations made by the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division and its participating employees.

“Our shipbuilders have demonstrated strong community support in partnership with the United Way for more than 50 years,” said Bill Ermatinger, HII’s corporate vice president and chief human resources officer. “In addition to being headquartered here, the majority of HII employees work and live in the Hampton Roads area. Our participation in the United Way of the Virginia Peninsula’s annual campaign is a reflection of this and the fact that we are committed to a healthy and robust community.”

Shipbuilders who donated were able to direct their contributions to the organizations of their choice. Organizations that benefit from the campaign include health and human service agencies across the region that address everything from hunger and homelessness to affordable childcare and services for the elderly.

“This very generous contribution sets the pace for others in our area and demonstrates what a caring group can achieve when it sets sights on helping others,” said Ty Joubert, president of United Way of the Virginia Peninsula. “We thank Huntington Ingalls Industries and Newport News Shipbuilding for their outstanding support of our community campaign.”

United Way is a worldwide network in 46 countries and territories, including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the United States, which advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health.

About Huntington Ingalls

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) designs, builds and maintains nuclear and non-nuclear ships for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and provides after-market services for military ships around the globe. For more than a century, HII has built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. Employing more than 37,000 in Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana and California, its primary business divisions are Newport News Shipbuilding and Ingalls Shipbuilding. For more information, visit: