Enlisted spouses give back to community

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Luther Mitchell
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  In the entrance way is a sign-in sheet next to a meeting agenda. In the break room is a platter tray filled with an array of fruits. As women begin to file in and grab food from the break room, the room starts to fill with laughter.

This marks the start of the Luke Air Force Base Enlisted Spouses' Club meeting, a club whose purpose is to unite spouses and their community.

The club was created to be a support system for the enlisted community and to give back to the local community, said Sherrie Pospisil, ESC president.

Membership meetings are held the last Tuesday of every month. During the meeting, the group discusses upcoming events they are planning, finances and programs that are in the works.

The ESC is active in the local community and has many volunteer events that they participate in.

Operation Thunderbox is one such event that provides deployed military personnel with care packages.

"Operation Thunderbox benefits those who are deployed," said Amanda Purvis, ESC member. "Everybody that is deployed will receive a care package with items they need like shampoo, reading materials, food and snacks. We gather donations and put packages together to ship out."

ESC members also routinely volunteer at the Crisis Nursery, the Valley's longest serving children's shelter, and the American Cancer Society.

"We are heavily involved with the American Cancer Society Relay for Life," Pospisil said. "In the last four years our group has raised close to $40,000. Relay is most important as we have members who are cancer survivors."

Additionally, the club is collecting cases of water for the homeless, and in conjunction with Credit Union West, is now accepting applications for two $500 scholarships.

"With everything we do, we try to benefit everybody in the community in some way," Purvis said.

Once a month, the club holds a members' night out where spouses meet up for a little fun. This gives the members a chance to get to know each other in a more casual setting.

"We have members' night out, play dates and couples' night out," Pospisil said. "We set aside bonding time to make everlasting friendships and be there to support one another."

All in all, the ESC was created to give back to the enlisted community and members are happy to help out.

"It feels good to help out people deployed," Purvis said. "It makes me feel like I am doing something important."