For generous souls everywhere, the winter holidays are an extra-special time of giving. The brothers and sisters of the IBEW collect warm coats and clothes, run turkey and toy drives, stock food banks, prepare and serve hot meals, and make their communities festive and bright with magical lighting displays.

But those acts of kindness and so many others aren't limited to the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's. When the IBEW says, "'Tis the season," it applies to all of them — winter, spring, summer and fall.

The pages of The Electrical Worker can only scratch the surface of the countless good deeds of locals, members and retirees throughout the year.

In 2023, that sampling included Alabama members building a Habitat for Humanity home; Oklahoma City Local 1141 volunteers packing thousands of meals for children; a bicycling couple out of South Bend, Ind., Local 153 and Phoenix Local 640 riding 4,000 miles to fight childhood cancer; a Pittsburgh Local 5 wireman mentoring a high school robotics team; IBEW sisters from Portland, Ore., Local 48 honoring real-life Rosie the Riveter centenarians; St. Louis Local 1 members wiring a shelter for senior dogs and cats; Syracuse, N.Y., Local 43 electricians upgrading a youth center; and, among the year-round hustle at the Hudson Unit of East Windsor, N.J., Local 827, delivering 7½ tons of groceries to a food pantry, delighting disadvantaged children with Santa and gifts, and raising money for causes near and far.

The local's most faraway cause this year was desperate IBEW families in Hawaii after August's wild fire, a call also answered by members attending the RENEW conference in New Orleans that week, along with Santa Rosa, Calif., Local 551. Doubtless, there are many others.

That's the best kind of problem to have: more stories of goodwill than we could ever tell. But this month, we inch a tiny fraction closer by presenting five stories about the efforts of IBEW volunteers from one side of the continent to the other.

From the staff of The Electrical Worker, Happy Holidays!

Hop on a cruise ship or fly to a resort, and you won't find anyone having a better time than the Canadian electricians who each paid $2,800 to spend 10 days working their hearts out at a Guatemalan orphanage.

They strung heavy triplex cable across the hilly site, overhauled the electrical systems at a special-needs dormitory and an offsite community center, and made critical repairs across the main compound, where smiling little faces looked on with awe.

"They all have a sad story, but they're the happiest children you'll ever meet," said Jerry Wilson, president of the Kitchener, Ontario, Local 804 Retirees' Club, whose members and spouses made up the lion's share of the 16 travelers, along with a journeywoman, two IBEW apprentices and an apprentice millwright.

They arrived with 23 stuffed hockey bags, filled by the generosity of IBEW members and their larger community: piles of clothes, shoes, bedsheets, towels, blankets, toothbrushes and other essentials, along with a sleigh's worth of toys and board games that made for laughter-filled game nights with youngsters and staff.

Warmth and gratitude flowed in every direction throughout their stay, while Google Translate helped everyone get to know each other.

"We forged the deepest connections with everybody that we came in contact with, and you can't put a price tag on that," said Wilson's wife, Terry.

For the Wilsons and Wendy and Neil Whittaker — who served in the taxing role of foreman on a project with scarce materials and no blueprints — it was a return trip.

Four years ago, after learning from Friends of the Orphans Canada about the home's dire needs, nine electricians tackled a massive first round of rewiring and repairs. On both trips, spouses assisted teachers and staff, embracing playtime, reading, meals and crafts with the children.

The 2019 group came home so joyful, energized and eager for an encore that apprentice Mikayla Franklin was determined to join them next time — a journey they'd have made sooner if not for the pandemic.

Pairing with journeywoman Virginia Pohler, a member of neighboring London, Ontario, Local 120, Franklin's chief duty was at a center for children with disabilities.

"I didn't know what I was getting into until I was there," she said, describing "exposed wires in bathrooms, extension cords sketchily threaded together," and other shock and fire hazards.

Eliminating them brought instant gratification.

"It was so cool to be able to help them and see the immediate difference it made," Franklin said. "All these kids and even adults were walking by something so dangerous and not knowing it's so dangerous. And we got the opportunity to fix it so that nobody gets hurt."

Outside, their IBEW brothers navigated steep terrain — a 268-step stairway runs between the visitors center and church — to connect seven buildings with triplex cable. Thankfully, Whittaker said, the poles were already installed. Even so, it was daunting.

"All the work was done on ladders," he said. "In Canada, we'd be using bucket trucks."

Franklin was struck by the many contrasts to their highly regulated jobs at home, noting how much she learned from Pohler, an electrical inspector.

"It gave me perspective on how good we have it and why we have certain rules," said Franklin, now a journeywoman. "I think every apprentice could benefit from this kind of experience. It really opens your eyes to the world."

It was life-changing for the children, too, especially the girls, as Terry Wilson and Wendy Whittaker observed. While the 2019 volunteers were all men, this time the skills of two IBEW sisters were on display.

"The young girls were astounded to see Mikayla and Virginia wearing tool pouches, dressed in the garb of a trades worker," Wilson said. "It was something beyond their wildest imaginations that an occupation like that could be available to a female — that they could grow up to be more than a weaver or cook or other traditional roles for Latin American women."

With the holiday rush in full swing by mid-December, it can be tough for most people to carve out even a little free time for themselves, let alone to help others in need.

"We're swamped with work," said Patrick Hook, business manager of Columbus, Ohio, Local 683. "We're really blessed."

Even so, dozens of apprentices, journeymen and retirees from the local have donated time and effort over the last several years in support of the Christmas Cares — Unions Share program.

"It's just a great way for our members to get involved with the community," Hook said.

Now in its 70th year, Christmas Cares — Unions Share has evolved from a modest Christmas basket program serving a relatively small portion of Franklin County.

Working with the Central Ohio Labor Council, the St. Stephen's Community House, the Mid-Ohio Food Collective and the United Way of Central Ohio, the Local 683 members now join nearly 1,000 other volunteers to prepare and distribute what's hoped will be enough food to help an estimated 3,000 feed their families through the winter holiday season.

"We have a good time doing it," Hook said. "IBEW members know how to find a way to make it fun."

Over a week, the volunteers assemble at St. Stephen's to sort and prepare bags of purchased and donated canned food and fresh produce. Then, on the Saturday and Sunday before Christmas, they distribute the bags to the families that drive through the facility's parking lot.

Anywhere from 50 to 75 Local 683 members will typically help, Hook said, many bringing family members and friends to join in.

"This is always a great opportunity for our apprentices to put in community service hours and for our members to volunteer as well," he said.

Learn more at saintstephensch.org.

The football field is a green valley surrounded by the red brick cliffs of rowhouses in the Olney section of Philadelphia.

But like many formerly middle-class neighborhoods in many formerly industrial cities, Olney has been struggling.

A few years ago, unknown thieves stole the copper wire out of the lights at the field, part of the Lauretha Vaird Boys & Girls Club, causing damage worth 10 to 20 times the value of the copper they scrapped.

It literally and spiritually left the neighborhood darker. Every year, as winter approached, 300 football players and 50 cheerleaders watched their time to practice and play grow dimmer each day.

After she won the Democratic nomination for mayor, Cherelle Parker — who would go on to win in November — called Mark Lynch, business manager of Local 98, to see if the local could help out the kids.

They knew each other from her campaign, and both sensed something different in the city since the local trades rallied after a truck fire collapsed a 500-ton section of Interstate 95 in June. Less than two weeks later, the road reopened. It made the whole city ask why people accept when things aren't how they should be.

"There's a spirit here. We call it 'can-do Philadelphia,'" Lynch said. "We said we would look into it and our members would do the work free."

It was a nightmare. The thieves who stole the wire caused $40,000 to $50,000 of damage, not including labor.

Local 98 held a news conference and promised to do the job, do it right and do it fast if the city stepped up to join them.

"Local 98 builds coalitions, and then we do the work. We get things done," said Local 98 Political Director Tony Lepera.

In stepped Ron Jaworski, one of the greatest Eagles quarterbacks of all time, and still a local even decades after retiring. His foundation stepped in with $30,000, which helped secure $50,000 courtesy of the City Council.

On Tuesday, Oct. 24, a platoon of Local 98 wiremen and apprentices poured into Olney and began to set things right. By Thursday, the kids were back in the glow.

"We don't have to accept that things don't work. We don't have to accept worse than our kids deserve. That's the union message: We're strong when we're together — better contracts, more work, better neighborhoods, healthier kids," Lepera said. "A better future for everybody."

San Jose, Calif., Local 332 has a unique tradition at its annual holiday party. Many members show up early and spend the day assembling bikes purchased for needy children in the area.

Local 332 splits the cost with NECA's Santa Clara Valley chapter. Once assembled, the bikes are donated to Sacred Heart Community Service, a San Jose-based organization working to address poverty in the city. Sacred Heart distributes them to children in need.

Business Manager Javier Casillas said members usually assemble 75 to 150 bikes.

"They spend quite a few hours putting them together, but it's a really fun day," Casillas said. "Their kids are usually here having a good time, decorating cookies for the party and things like that. Mom and Dad are putting together bikes for the less-fortunate families."

That's one of several initiatives Local 332 takes part in to help improve the quality of life in San Jose, the 12th-largest city in the U.S., along with the surrounding area.

Another major one is the YWCA Walk a Mile, which is held every summer and raises money for the organization's work to aid women and their children affected by domestic or sexual abuse.

Local 332 raised $15,000 this year, the second-largest total of any team taking part. It has been a regular participant since 2007, when now-retired Business Agent Sal Ventura got involved with the YMCA and encouraged others to join him. Ventura still takes part in the walk. Apprentice wirewoman Zahira Elmansoumi was the captain of this year's team.

"Walk a Mile is a fun and competitive event for a serious cause," said journeyman wireman and Local 332 member Lilliana Martinez, who is active in many of the charitable events, including the walk.

"There is a quiet but growing rivalry amongst teams. I think this event aligns with our sense of community and brings out our best. We are the community."

Whether it's making comfort cases for sexual assault survivors or forming an all-female crew to upgrade a women's safe house, there may be nothing the Kamloops, British Columbia, Local 993 Women's Committee wouldn't do for its community — even if that community is 1,200 kilometers away.

"I feel fortunate to have such great support from our local, as well as our signatory contractors and the communities within our jurisdiction," Local 993 Assistant Business Manager Mollie Routledge said. "Without them, we would not be able to go out and assist in the forgotten areas where help is needed."

In 2019, the women's committee set out to collect 50 comfort cases, which include personal hygiene items and a new set of clothing, because a survivor's original clothes are often damaged or being used as evidence. But with help from signatories like Houle Electric, Vancouver Local 213, Victoria Local 230, the Western Joint Electrical Training Society and others in the labor community, they ended up with about 100 cases, which they delivered to different northern Canada communities.

They haven't stopped helping since. Committee members have been involved in a number of events, like the Shoe Memorial to honor the memory of women killed by violence; Red Dress Day, which raises awareness of the ongoing crisis of violence against Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people; and Coldest Night of the Year, which helps those who are homeless.

"We like to pick the stuff that's near and dear to us," said Tammy Schnieder, a member of Local 993's Women's Committee. "Our goal is to make a positive impact wherever we can."

Schnieder and others were recently part of an all-women crew that did electrical upgrades for a women's safe house in the northwest British Columbia town of Kitimat. The drive up took them about 14 hours.

"It is quite empowering to have an all-women electrical crew on a project like that," Routledge said.

The crew, made up of journey worers as well as apprentices, did an electrical retrofit, upgrading receptacles, switches and lights. Local contractor WSG Energy Services pitched in with equipment like ladders, emergency lighting and battery drills. They, along with fellow area contractors TLT and Flour, even made sure the women had coffee and lunches, Routledge said.

"I think it's great that Local 993 was able to help make a safe environment for these women," Schnieder said. "It shows that women in the trades are powerful and we can accomplish a lot."

In addition to the upgrade, the women's committee sold T-shirts — so many, in fact, that they had to place a second order. Combined with the materials they were able to have donated, the sisters had enough funds left over to start on their next project of creating starter packages, which they plan to distribute next year. The packages will be given to women when they leave the safe house and include household items for the kitchen and bathroom and for cleaning, Routledge said.

"A lot of times these women have nothing. This will help make it a little easier as they venture out on their own again," she said.