IBEW Local 64 and IBEW Local 573 value giving back during the holiday season, especially when the donation features a lesson for young people.
The owner of Santon Electric, Dan Santon, saw an ad for the Boo Squad on the local news, and he then shared what he found with fellow NECA-IBEW Electricians leaders.
“We do something during the holidays yearly, and I thought helping with this project would be a good gesture,” he said.
Representatives of IBEW Local 64, IBEW Local 573 and Santon Electric pose with their donations to the Boo Squad’s Thanksgiving Food Drive.
Santon Electric then teamed up with IBEW Local 64, IBEW Local 573, his fellow NECA-IBEW Electricians contractors, and Rulli Brothers’ Michael Rulli to donate five complete Thanksgiving dinners to families in need in the Valley.
Local children helping families in need
The Boo Squad was founded five years ago, and its Thanksgiving Food Drive started in 2017. The goal is to “get kids involved in their communities by volunteering and teaching them to be compassionate towards others by always putting themselves in someone else’s shoes before judging them,” said Heather Medvec, Boo Squad director.
In the last five years, the organization has donated 535 dinners to families in need. Medvec says they are expecting to increase their donations this year.
“I think it’s fantastic what these kids are doing from such a young age,” Santon said. “I’d like to see them grow, and I want to make our donation a tradition.”
What if more kids did something like this
“Our donation to these kids accomplishes two things: helping people in need of a Thanksgiving meal and helping teach kids compassion and learn the life lesson of helping others,” Santon said. “Imagine the impact it would make in our communities if more kids around the area and the country would emulate this.”
Members of the Boo Squad gather in front of packaged Thanksgiving meals.
Santon says he feels the lessons the kids involved are learning will stay with them forever.
The Boo Squad was able to not only catch the attention of Santon and local IBEW unions, but they were also featured on NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition to speak on their efforts in helping their community.