For nearly a decade, City Electric Supply (CES) District Manager Shawn Odom has partnered with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, providing essential supplies for brand-new homes to help raise money for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Odom first became involved with the project when one of his customers, who was a builder, came to his branch to pick up some supplies.
“When I was a branch manager at CES Waxhaw, a customer came through needing some material to do electrical installations on a new residential build,” said Odom. “They told us about the cause, and I immediately agreed to donate whatever was needed free of charge.”
“St. Jude researches and treats cancer and other pediatric diseases,” said Amanda Bagwell, area development advisor of the St. Jude Carolinas team. “Partnering with organizations like CES allows us to help more children and ensure that no families are receiving a bill during treatment, so that they can focus on spending time with their child.”
Passing down the baton
As the years went by and Odom’s role at CES grew, the baton was passed down to Connor Rains, branch manager of CES Indian Trail, to take the lead in donating essential materials.
“I started participating in 2021 when I was managing CES Waxhaw,” said Rains. “It was a continuation of what Shawn started, and I carried that tradition over to the new Indian Trail location.”
Although Odom’s role in the coordination of supplies has changed, he still enjoys seeing his team at CES Indian Trail NC continue the tradition.
“It’s something I’m really proud of as I still keep up with the progress of the project every year,” added Odom.
Just as with the previous donations, the branch teamed up with a local customer to help build the home through donating supplies for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway.
First-time experience for local contractor and builder
Local construction company Four Oaks Builders was building a home for St. Jude when they reached out to Tayco Electric & Solar to install electrical components.
For over two decades, family-owned Tayco Electric & Solar — a long-time CES customer — has delivered installation, repair, upgrades, and ongoing maintenance services for residential and commercial clients.
After learning more about the project, Tayco owner Eric Owen immediately got on board.
“Being able to give back to children in need was super important to us,” said Tayco Electric & Solar Executive Assistant Makayla Thomas.
“This was the first home we had built for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway,” said Andy Suttle, owner of Four Oaks Builders, “but we were already familiar with the project. My friend Jeff Newton, another builder in the area, has constructed 11 homes for St. Jude over the course of 10 years.”
But the connection goes even deeper than that. Years ago, builder Jeff Newton worked on a St. Jude home construction project with Shawn Odom and Connor Rains during their time at CES Waxhaw.
He loved the experience so much that he eventually sold his company to work for St. Jude full time, educating other builders across the country on how they can take part in building dream homes and searching for new areas the charitable home building project can grow.
The St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway
Since 1991, St. Jude has given away new homes to support the fight against childhood cancer. Made possible through volunteered time, labor, and donations from local builders, contractors, and suppliers, these homes also benefit local families within the community.
“The home we’re giving away this year is over 3,000 square feet with three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It’s valued at around $700,000,” said Bagwell.
CES steps in to supply the essentials
CES stepped in to provide around $15,000 of installation essentials to Tayco Electric & Solar for the project. “Anything that’s needed to wire a house, we donated: panels, wire, boxes, receptacles, and other supplies,” said Rains.
“CES also provided the switches, outlets, and cover plates,” added Tayco Electric & Solar Project Manager Pablo Cortez. “We were able to go directly to the branch for anything we needed, and when we needed extra materials, they had it available for us the same day.”
The project, which began in late October 2025, was completed in early May 2026.
Millions raised at dream home raffle
On April 16, 2026, the raffle for the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway took place.
After raising $2.3 million last year, St. Jude’s Dream Home raffle crossed an even bigger milestone. “It feels really good to contribute to something that gets bigger and bigger every year, and the fact that this helps kids makes it even better,” said Odom.
“Tickets for the raffle went on sale for $100 each. We sold 27,000 tickets this year in 12.5 hours, which raised $2.7 million for the children and families at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” said Bagwell.
The St. Jude Dream Home giveaway took place on June 17, 2026. We can’t wait to see what’s in store and the impact that next year’s project will bring!
Last updated on July 14, 2026