Vance Spouses' Club gives back to military, local communities

Apr. 10—VANCE AIR FORCE BASE — Vance Spouses' Club not only services the local and military communities but also builds strong relationships — within the communities and among its 40 members.

Emily Crain, president of VSC, said the club's main purpose is to support charitable, social and educational activities and give back to the communities of Enid and Vance Air Force base through fundraising and social events.

"Everybody there is there to help develop the community, and also just be there for each other," Crain said.

The club was created in 2015 after the Officers' Spouses' Club and the Enlisted Spouses' Group combined to form VSC, which is composed of spouses of active and retired military members.

Crain said VSC also has honorary members — those in the community who are helpful toward the renovation and support community events.

"Everybody's welcome," she said. "Our technical members are spouses, but we do so much with the community — it's not exclusive."

'We still want to give back'

Typically, VSC hosts socials and community outreach and fundraising events. The socials are more for club members to "commiserate with each other" about their lives, Crain said.

The community outreach events are designed to help develop the military and local communities. In past years, VSC raised $500 for the 4RKids Foundation for its annual run; partnered with Fleece Friends to host a blanket-making social to give blankets to local homeless shelters; and spread holiday cheer by gift-giving through its Enid Senior Care Christmas Project.

However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, the club had to limit its activities, cancel events and host virtual meetings, Crain said.

"This year was so hard when it comes to fundraising because we still want to give back, and we've had to pare down our donations to local organizations and stuff just because it's been hard — it's a weird year," she said.

This is Crain's first year as president of VSC — the years typically last August through May — and she had big plans that were squashed by the pandemic.

Despite the challenges the pandemic brought, the club did "really well," Crain said. In 2020, VSC has helped raise funds to give to 4RKids and the YMCA.

"It has been frustrating, but I feel that we've also gotten a lot done this year as far as me trying to really revamp the club and get people to see it more and be more aware of it on base and in the community," Crain said.

Crain took on the mission of updating and redesigning the website this year, as well as hosting virtual meetings and elections, thing that might stick around.

"I think we've created a really cool structure to work with in the future where we can do kind of hybrid, virtual stuff if we want," she said.

Since VSC didn't have a lot of activites going on due to COVID-19, one one of the projects Crain took on in her year as president was to go through the club's constitution to make sure the rules were up-to-date in accordance with Air Force Instruction, which is the regulations on how a private organization like VSC can operate on the base.

VSC tries to focus on local organizations to give back to, Crain said, such as 4RKids and others around town, always striving to do something new every year.

VSC hosted its annual Holiday Marketplace virtually last year, showcasing products from vendors and giving the proceeds to local and national nonprofit organizations, school-sponsored extracurricular activities, local families in need and scholarships for graduating seniors and military spouses.

Crain said VSC raises money for an umbrella fund that goes out to local organizations and toward scholarships. Typically, Crain said, the club gives out about 10 scholarships every year, about $10,000 worth last year, which is lower compared with other years due to COVID-19.

Its biggest charity event, though — the annual VSC Charity Auction — is coming up Saturday.

Last year, VSC canceled the auction due to COVID-19, but this year, it is on. The club will host its Multicultural Evening to Remember charityzser from 7-11 p.m. Saturday at Stride Bank Center.

Crain said VSC is strictly following COVID-19 guidelines at the Stride Center and that the event will have social distancing guidelines in place along with masks and plexiglass.

"We still want to be safe, but we also want to give back to the community this year," she said.

The evening will feature multicultural fare highlighting Italy, Mexico and Asia, along with "tons" of silent auctions, with those who won rev ealed at the end of the night, and a live auction that has around 10 items, some valued at $3,000.

All proceeds will go toward the VSC scholarship and charitable giving fund.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.vsc.yapsody.com but are available until Monday. In addition to the website, information can be obtained by emailing vancespousesclub@gmail.com.

Communities coming togetherIf anyone in the community wants to get involved with the auction, Crain said people can volunteer to help out and, most importantly, they can show up.

"We would love it if the community came to the event," Crain said, "and just be a part of it and have fun with us, just mingle — the two different communities mingling together, but I think that would be fantastic."

Crain said there are many important things VSC does for the communities, and it's important, especially for spouses who may get "wrapped up" with military life, for the base to have a connection with the town that brings everyone together.

"It can be a really good relationship for everybody, and we're stronger that way," Crian said. "When we support each other, I think we're stronger."

For Crain, the best part of being involved with VSC since she joined in 2017 is all the good things that happen and the involvement in the community, and both the Vance and Enid communities are "fabulous."

"I've never been somewhere where so many people are so dedicated to bettering the community and creating a social safety net," she said.

Kelci McKendrick is police and court reporter for the Enid News & Eagle.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Kelci? Send an email to kelcim@enidnews.com.