Military Spouse Club
Ideas for Organizers, from Organizers
These days, with more military wives working full-time and therefore having less time for Spouse Club, military spouse-wives clubs are usually looking for ways to pep things up and increase membership and attendance.
What makes a spouse club successful?
1. Members who feel connected to one another
2. A common goal (homecoming, fundraising)
3. Time set aside for fun and friendship
To make members feel more connected, and to create a fun environment where everyone is working toward the same goal, many spouse clubs have employed ice breakers, theme parties and yearly fundraising. Below are reader-submitted suggestions from military spouses across the country. Try one of these at your next meeting, or create something new. If it works, submit your new idea to admin@sarahsmiley.com.
General
Overseas Spouse Club
We are stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, and our spouse club is The Special Forces Social Club (SFSC). The SFSC supports the community by offering cultural experiences, educational enrichment and social interaction. We started a little over a year ago and have had a lot of success.
We try and offer at least one social, one cultural, one children’s and one educational activity each month (we often have more...especially in the summer)! We are always kid friendly and open.
Some events we have implemented include:
- Local Day Trips: Sometimes we go on weekend trips as well. We were quite a sight in Belgium with four women and our combined group of seven children! And as a seven car caravan at Lake Konstanz with almost 20 people!
- Kid Oriented Trips: We’re going to Disneyland Paris the weekend before Halloween!
- Cultural Trips: We go to see castles, historical sites, etc.
- Social Excursions: To plays, concerts and museum exhibits, and so forth.
- Educational Activities: Together we're taking a local cuisine cooking class at a local restaurant, a sewing class at the local craft store, and we are looking into setting up a German class.
- Shopping Trips: To Poland and Italy to buy ceramics and other cool stuff!
- “Travel Library”: We are combing our travel information into a "library." Everytime we are somewhere interesting, we take a flyer or pamphlet to add, so people are not always reinventing the wheel.
- Welcome Packet: Helps people with all the little things about moving to another country...from where the best toy stores and hair dressers are to local customs.
We are working on implementing welcome baskets and baby gifts etc. the children’s holiday parties etc. We play bunko. We host baby showers. We meet one evening and one morning each month so the most people can be able to attend.
And honestly, our group started this because it is so hard in a new country...but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work in the States too! I will probably try and start one when I get back in a few years. Why wouldn’t women want to travel to new place in the states, too? Williamsburg, Washington DC? Disneyland? Beach House? The possibilities are endless! There must be lots of wonderful and interesting places near most bases!
Ice Breakers
Spouse Club BINGO
Make BINGO cards with 5 squares across and 5 down. Fill each square with descriptive characteristics (see below) of different people. As members enter the meeting, give them 1 card and a pencil, and instructions to mingle and meet people. As members meet someone who matches one of the BINGO squares, they should write that person's name in the square. Only one name per square and each person's name can only be used once (must have a large group or lower the bingo card size)
Who am I?
Good for nearly any scenario. Labels are made before everyone arrives, and one is stuck on each persons back. You are only allowed to as "yes" or "no" questions to find out who you are. "Am I animated?" "Do I have black hair?" "Am I human?"
You can establish before hand what "theme" you want to go with it. I used it at a bridal shower and the labels all were items from a wedding. Flowers, dress, veil, etc. ("Do I smell?" "Am I edible?") I used it at a youth birthday party and each label was an animal. ("Do I have 4 feet?" "Am I taller than a human?") I also used it at a mixer for an office party where there were new people there. I chose famous cartoon characters for that. ("Am I currently on-air?" "Do I make a special noise?") Could be adapted to famous military people, strong women in history, etc.
Theme Parties
Fundraising
Silent Auction
Submitted by Cindee
Each year the Warren Spouses' Club at FE Warren AFB in Cheyenne, WY we have a Basket Auction with all the trimmings. Throughout the night a live auctioneer auctions off themed baskets and pies. During cocktail hour and dinner bids can be made on several silent auction items (usually smaller in price, so everyone has an opportunity to buy). The entire base and community gets involved: Groups, Squadrons, individuals, local business all donate baskets for this one night of fun.
Each year this event gets bigger and bigger. Last year we collect over $5,000.00 for our scholarship fund. (Here at FE Warren we raise money all year and then we give it all away to dependents and spouses for their college education.)
Planning Homecoming
First Kiss Raffle
To get people to attend our Family Support Group meetings/activites during deployment, we offer 5 EXTRA "First Kiss" raffle entries to each person who is present.
(A "First Kiss" raffle is legendary for ship homecomings. The winner of this contest has the honor of being the first person--right behind "New Dads"--to kiss their returning loved one when the ship pulls in.)
For the kids who attend activities, we offer "First Hug" raffle tickets and set it up the same way.
Then, for attendance to our Half-Way Celebration during deployment, we set up "Kiss and a 1/2" which is basically the 2nd kiss at Homecoming. BUT the catch is this, you have to be at the celebration to be eligible to win.
Other Ideas (Supper Clubs, Book Clubs, etc)
Cooking Club
Our squadron has a monthly cooking club. Anyone in the squadron (including active duty) can join. Once a month, we meet at one someone's house (it rotates). The coordinator of the cooking club and the host decide on a theme for that night -- (i.e. Taste of Italy, Moroccan, Hispanic Tour, etc) -- but everyone is responsible for bringing some ingredients. The coordinator will email/call each person who RSVP'd and tell them what they are to bring. At the party, everyone helps assemble/make the foods. We all sit down and enjoy the "meal" and then rate each food/beverage there. The coordinator takes pictures of each night, emails them to the group and even adds the recipes to a word file creating a "cookbook" for the club. Each month's recipes are in the cookbook.
For a fundraiser -- we make lunches for the members of the squadron and serve in the snack room.
We also design shirts/totes/patches for the spouses. One of our spouses created a patch (for us to put on a flight suit OR sew on a flight jacket) that said "They Rescue the World! We keep it turning!" There was a C-130 laying in the palm of a hand with the world mingled in between. Then, we put our squadron on the badge as well: "71st Rescue Spouses." It was a GREAT fundraiser for us, and now that is our "logo" for new spouses to our group. We have the logo imprinted onto a tote bag and that is their welcome gift.