Ann Arbor, Mich., Local 252
Little Patients, Big Smiles
Vicki Loy was wiring a safety system at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital when she was saddened to realize that many young patients would still be there the next month for Christmas.
Thinking about her crews’ good wages as Ann Arbor, Mich., Local 252 members, Loy said, “I started asking the guys, ‘Hey, what if we all throw our spare change in a jar?’”
That was 25 years ago. What started with nickels and dimes has become a holiday mission for Loy and Local 252, each year raising thousands of dollars that generate hundreds of smiles.
Their contributions help the hospital fill a store that rivals a small Toys “R” Us in every way but one: no cash registers. Parents can “shop” for gifts, for not just patients but also their siblings, relieving some of the financial stress and time strains on families during medical crises.
“The IBEW is one of our larger donors. They give so generously,” said Lindsay Heering, director of Child & Family Life at Mott, part of University of Michigan Health. “And Vicki has one of the biggest hearts ever.”
The project includes shopping sprees at Meijer, a grocery and department store that employs Local 252 electricians. Loy and other volunteers fill cart after cart, but not randomly.
“Vicki checks with me every year to see what the greatest needs are,” Heering said, explaining that gifts for school-age children are typically abundant, but less so for infants, toddlers, teens and young adults up to 21. “The IBEW really help us fill those gaps.”
Occasionally, the local gets thank-you cards that Business Manager Ryan Husse reads at membership meetings. “It really touches a lot of families,” he said. “We’re very proud to participate and proud of Vicki for leading the way.”
Journeyman Vicki Loy, pictured, annually leads Local 252’s efforts to help fill a makeshift toy store at the 250-bed C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, allowing families to select holiday gifts at no charge.
Asbury Park, N.J., Local 400 and Cheyenne, Wyo., Local 415
Filling Hearts and Cupboards
Charities fighting hunger know there’s one thing they can count on at the holidays: the big hearts of IBEW members and locals’ efforts to collect and deliver literally tons of food.
Among them is Asbury Park, N.J., Local 400, which got this shoutout from a food bank last year: “Our friends at IBEW are bringing hope, joy, and full plates to many families across Monmouth and Ocean Counties this Thanksgiving thanks to their recent donation. … 3,465 lbs. of food, including turkeys and other holiday meal essentials — that’s enough for 2,888 meals!”
Local President Michael Ricca coordinates the food drive, reminding members that people in need don’t necessarily look like they’re struggling.
“You never know what someone’s going through,” Ricca said. “And you never know when you might need help yourself. There was a point during the Great Recession when the food bank was coming to our hall in support of our members.
“It’s a big objective of our local to say that when times are good, when everybody’s working and you’ve got a couple of extra bucks in your pocket, that we give back.”
The same spirit drives the RENEW chapter at Cheyenne, Wyo., Local 415, which is collecting for two food pantries this Christmas.
The group’s chair, second-year apprentice Michael McHenry, said joining the IBEW “was the best decision I ever made” and is eager to give back.
“It’s a super good feeling to know that we’re helping a lot of people in our community,” he said.
The IBEW’s many food drives include one at Asbury Park, N.J., Local 400 (top) and another by the RENEW chapter at Cheyenne, Wyo., Local 415.
Savannah, Ga., Local 508
Gifting Toys, Wrapping Joy
Every December, piles of toys, spools of sparkling paper and bustling union elves turn Savannah, Ga.’s IBEW hall into a Southern outpost of the North Pole.
You can practically hear Local 508 hearts bursting as leaders and staff talk about hosting their Central Labor Council’s annual gift-wrapping party and the weeks beforehand that volunteers spend collecting donations and shopping for presents.
“It’s something we love doing,” Business Manager Alton Mosley said. “Our members keep wanting to give more and more, and that means we can bless even more families.”
The IBEW’s and fellow unions’ generosity allows the Savannah Regional CLC to provide three gifts from children’s wish lists and a $100 grocery card, benefiting military, union and other families in need.
“Local 508 has played a huge role in hosting and helping me organize. They’ve been awesome,” said CLC President Christi Hulme, whose autumn is consumed by the project.
Volunteers will gather again Dec. 4 and wrap like crazy. “We start at 5 p.m. and go until we’re finished,” Hulme said, sparking a laugh from Mosley. “Sometimes I’m starting with the bicycles around midnight,” he said.
Organizer Ray Harrison has put together tricycles and other gifts requiring assembly but is still mastering the art of wrapping. “There are some awkward packages,” he said. “Like trying to wrap a ball or boxes shaped like triangles.”
Union families helped by Local 508 include a big one of their own: journeyman wireman Steven Smith and his 13 children, who lost their mother in March 2024 to complications from a heart attack the previous October.
Smith, who’d quit his longtime job at a nuclear plant to care for her, was overwhelmed when local brothers and sisters showed up with a sleigh’s worth of presents and a holiday feast for Christmas 2023.
“The hall had contacted me to offer help, but I was still blown away,” he said. “There were toys and gift cards and food. Ruth, my wife, just about broke down at what a blessing it was. There was such a weight on us then.
“We would have had a Christmas as a family, but it wouldn’t have been that kind of bright Christmas. It wasn’t just the gifts. It was about the time they gave. The love they gave. It was so much from the heart.”
The not-so-secret Santas returned last year as the Smith clan faced their first Christmas without Ruth.
Smith is back at work and said he’s grateful every day for the IBEW. Not only did union wages and benefits help him and Ruth fulfill their dream of a large family, but he found another one in the process.
“I’m so glad the good Lord set it up for me to fall in with Local 508,” he said. “I got into this business for a career. But you don’t just get a career. You get a family. The IBEW is a family, and it felt like my family had their arms wrapped around me when I needed it most.”
A party to wrap donated toys brings IBEW and fellow union members together at Savannah Local 508’s hall each December. Wrappers include Business Manager Alton Mosley, pictured standing in photo at top left.
