As they climbed aboard a holiday "Cheer Bus" to deliver presents to sick children, Long Island, N.Y., Local 1049 members knew they were in for a roller coaster of emotions.

"It's a hard experience to explain because it is such a difficult time for these families," said Nick Clemente, aka Santa Claus. "But it's very rewarding to keep the magic alive for kids who literally are fighting for their lives."

The inaugural outing in December 2023, a partnership with the charity Kids Need More, spurred even greater turnout and donations during the 2024 holiday season. And anticipation is already building for 2025.

"I think the members would rebel if we didn't continue doing it," Business Manager Pat Guidice said. "We want to expand it out and make it where we're reaching more families and more children. This is going to be one of our signature events."

With day camps and year-round family activities, Kids Need More strives to make life brighter for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

The Cheer Bus program is especially popular. Donors such as Local 1049 rent a small motor coach, fill it with volunteers and sackfuls of gifts, and visit designated homes a few days before Christmas.

"We all meet up at a school, and then everyone has an opportunity to load up their buses, mingle and get ready to start the day," said Clemente, an equipment operator on an underground drill crew. "It's a huge event. I'm really impressed by the extent of what they do."

Assistant Business Manager Rick Fridell suggested that the local get involved after hearing about the charity from his girlfriend, whose son survived Stage 4 cancer.

Like Clemente and others, he felt a range of emotions on delivery day.

"You see the joy on the family's part, but for us, it's sad, it's very sad," Fridell said. "You've got this child who's suffering but has this huge smile on their face, and you feel happy for the moment. But you walk away knowing the family may lose that child."

With their parents' help, ailing children and their siblings make wish lists for Kids Need More, which takes care of some of the more affordable gifts. Bigger-ticket items fall to donors.

Fridell said the generosity of Local 1049 members made it possible to fulfill wishes for Nintendo Switches, outdoor basketball hoops, bicycles, remote-control toys and more.

"It's very moving to see the interactions between all the volunteers, all of us doing everything we could to make these families happy," he said. "And we did it as a family, as IBEW Local Union 1049."

Lisa Quinn, a 37-year member in the PSEG business office, couldn't wait to make deliveries for a second year. For weeks beforehand, she and fellow volunteers worked through a checklist — donations; shopping sprees; sorting mountains of toys, books, pajamas and all manner of other gifts into Santa-style bags.

But when the big day arrived Dec. 22, Quinn woke up with a cold. Visiting kids with weakened immune systems was out of the question. "I was so disappointed, but I can't wait to do it again this year," she said.

"When we pull up, the expression on the kids' faces, it just does something to you," Quinn described. "Being a kid is supposed to be the easy part of life, but here they are, between doctors' visits and medical tests, and your heart just breaks. But they're smiling. And you're smiling. It's an amazing thing to be part of."

The joy practically jumps off the screen in a Local 1049 video. At each stop, Santa and his busload of elves disembark singing Christmas carols, while excited children rush toward them and the plump, festive bags in their hands.

For Melissa Moro's family, it was the best yet of three years of visits from Kids Need More volunteers.

"Luca goes through a lot, in and out of the hospital. To see him smile means so much," Moro said of her 4½-year-old, who's had medical issues since brain surgery as an infant and is at grave risk of the tumor returning.

"He ran right up to the bag and pulled out a fire truck and police car and a Hot Wheels track. When he saw that, he was over the moon," Moro said.

There were also a tricycle, Bluey books, various toys and a good pair of boots. Gifts for his toddler sister included a Barbie doll. "She's loving it. She carries that thing everywhere," Moro said.

Before December, Moro didn't know anything about the IBEW. Now, Local 1049 has her enduring gratitude.

"They were so great," she said. "They didn't have to take time out on a Sunday to do this, but they did, and they interacted with Luca so well."

She also complimented Santa, played for the second time by 34-year-old Clemente, whose wife beat cancer several years ago.

"She's all better now, thank God," he said. "We received a lot of support from my friends and family and my co-workers and Local 1049."

So he wasn't about to say no when his mother, Jennifer Clemente, a Local 1049 Executive Board member, volunteered him as St. Nick at a union meeting.

"Rick Fridell was bringing up that he could use some support from members — donations and to pack up gifts, and he also said, 'We need someone to play Santa Claus.' My mom's hand went up," Clemente said with a laugh.

"It's a privilege for us to be able to do this, to give these families a brief moment where they can enjoy the holidays the way they should be enjoyed," he said. "It's a tough thing but also a really beautiful experience."

Scan the code to see Local 1049's smile-filled video from delivery day. (bit.ly/Local1049KidsNeedMore ).