The holidays are hard times for families in need. But St. Louis Local 1 and the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Department helped make some children’s holidays a little brighter.

Left to right, Leadwood, Mo. police officer Jeremy Bowles joined Missouri Highway Patrol Lt. William Choate in helping two children in the ‘Shop with a Cop’ holiday shopping event.

Officers from the department took 500 disadvantaged children on a shopping trip Dec. 19 using community donations, including $3,000 from the Electrical Connection, a partnership of Local 1 and the St. Louis chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association

“It is a privilege to support ‘Shop with a Cop,’’ said Local 1 Business Manager Frank Jacobs. “There are families hurting in our community.”

The county sheriff’s association has sponsored program for 22 years. The IBEW and NECA have donated a total of $51,000 to the program.

“The Electrical Connection has long been a valuable community partner in supporting the ‘Shop with a Cop” program,’ said St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock. “When neighbor helps neighbor as the IBEW/NECA partnership has done for many years, it makes our entire community stronger.”

Shop with a Cop events are sponsored by police departments across the country every year.

Click here for more information on the Electrical Connection. 

The Electrical Connection, a partnership of St. Louis Local 1 and the St. Louis chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association donated $3,000 for the “Shop With a Cop” program. From left, Lee Asher and Chuck DeMoulin, Local 1 business representatives; Danny Miller, owner of Total Electric Inc.; Doug Martin, executive vice president of NECA St. Louis Chapter; “Shop With a Cop” Organizer Lora Henson; David Shaw; and St. Francois County Sheriff Dan Bullock.