Last Friday night my husband and I got all dressed up and headed out to our installation’s version of a banquet hall to support our community spouse’s club for one of their annual fundraisers. While it sounds like something only ‘certain’ people do, I want to take some reasons and explain why it is that I choose to get involved with the spouses’ club at each installation.
First of all, it is a fantastic way to meet friends. Friends that aren’t immediately involved in your spouse’s career or your kid’s school. Friends that can be all yours. Where r
ank, job, education, have no impact on friendship. Friends that welcome you because they were new once too. And when you start working with these friends, you develop a relationship that is long lasting.
Spouses’ Clubs have been around a long time. Some are still separated by rank, but it’s pretty safe to say their days are numbered. There are social events and fundraiser events. I like to think our time is split about evenly on them. We play bunco, we volunteer at the blood drive, and we put on really fun events that raise money. Big money.
Last year, I was fortunate enough to lead a fantastic group of spouses through four major fundraisers and give away over $30,000 in donations and scholarships. $30,000! Now, I don’t know about you, but handing out che cks to worthy students and organizations who spend their time helping our community is about as good as it gets. If you haven’t been able to do that, trust me on this.
So, back to last Friday night. We dressed up and headed out to a fantastically well run Auction. The theme was James Bond and there was such excitement in the air. Red carpet with one of those cool sponsor signs was available for photos. Photos you could take home that night, as anyone who is still waiting for holiday ball photos can tell you is a big deal.
Hors d’oeuvre, cash bar, and a carving station for dinner. Silent auction, dessert auction, live auction. Even if you couldn’t afford to bid on all of the things, or any of the things, it was fun to watch other people’s excitement.
One of the best parts was that most people made it a date night. So the room was full of service members and spouses, all in cocktail attire, mingling about and having a fantastic time. There was no military tradition, no official party, and no awkwardness. There was a lot of fun had, by everyone.
The team that put together this event, just like all t
he other events that spouses’ clubs manage to pull off, worked tirelessly and without complaining. I am so proud that despite the personal challenges and roadblocks that we all face, this particular spouses’ club can come together and put on an event that raises over $15,000 in one night. It’s really quite amazing.
Find your local spouses’ club. Join now. Right now.
Comments
Powered by Facebook Comments
Rebecca Alwine
Rebecca Alwine is a freelance writer, army wife, and mother of three. Over the past 10 years, she's discovered she enjoys coffee, running, lifting weights, and most of the menial tasks of motherhood. When she's not writing, she can usually be found hiding behind the sewing machine or with her nose in a book. Her writing experience includes military family topics, research pieces, guest blogging, and much more. She's a contributing writer for ARMY Magazine, a regular contributor for several publications including to Homefront United Network, PCSGrades, ESME, and has also been published in Ms. Magazine and The Atlantic's City Lab.
Rebecca Alwine is a freelance writer, army wife, and mother of three. Over the past 10 years, she's discovered she enjoys coffee, running, lifting weights, and most of the menial tasks of motherhood. When she's not writing, she can usually be found hiding behind the sewing machine or with her nose in a book.
Her writing experience includes military family topics, research pieces, guest blogging, and much more. She's a contributing writer for ARMY Magazine, a regular contributor for several publications including to Homefront United Network, PCSGrades, ESME, and has also been published in Ms. Magazine and The Atlantic's City Lab.