Featured Spouse Group—Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club, San Diego
Mantra: “Cherish Each Other”
by MSM
So much of what is fundamental to the spouse club institution is changing or going away. What has always been unique about military spouses is the way that we are able to make friends and bond with others within our spouse groups. One such group embodies all that our history is built upon. The Naval Officers’ Spouses’ Club, or NOSC, embraces tradition and celebrates the modern military spouse in San Diego, a city with a large military population. The group’s mantra this year is to “Cherish Each Other.” The president of NOSC, Ann Durham, summarizes the military spouse community by saying, “We are a diverse group of spouses…the thing that we all have in common is that we are spouses in the United States military, and that makes us a family. Very diverse, yes, but a family nonetheless. We celebrate together, share time together, have fun together, and grieve together. We come together to help others in need, and we support each other.”
According to the NOSC Web site (http://www.noscsandiego.com/), NOSC is a private, nonprofit organization devoted to the support of military service personnel and their family members throughout San Diego County. The group promotes the interests of both the active-duty and retired military communities in the San Diego area, as well as organizing social, cultural and charitable activities.
NOSC-Assisted Charities
Armed Services YMCA
Balboa Hospital
Chula Vista Veterans Home
Compass San Diego
Eagle Wings
Family Literacy Foundation
Homes for Our Troops
Multiple scholarships
MWR
Naval Medical Center San Diego
Naval Services FamilyLine
San Diego Volunteer Lawyer Program
USO
Veterans Museum and Memorial Center
About Sand Dollar and Sand Dollar Too
The pride and joy of NOSC is the Sand Dollar Collection (SDC). Corie Carroll, SDC chair for three years running, says that this volunteer-run store was first organized in 1994 as a fund-raising project for NOSC. The store's design was based on the successful models of the spouse-club-sponsored gift shops at other duty stations throughout the world. The store was moved to the Naval Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD), Balboa Hospital in 1998 and transformed into a "hospital boutique.” The goal of the Sand Dollar is to provide quality merchandise at a reasonable price to the hospital staff and to patients and their visitors. The shop enjoys the support of a loyal customer base at the hospital, and the Sand Dollar team appreciates the support they receive from the hospital command.
Sand Dollar Too grew out of the success of the hospital shop. In January 2005, with a small start-up loan from NOSC to purchase inventory, a second location was opened at Naval Air Station North Island. In addition to its retail shop, which features a unique collection of jewelry, accessories, giftware and home decor, the Sand Dollar Too also hosts trunk shows at numerous NOSC-sponsored and local-command-sponsored events throughout the year. Sand Dollar Too works with many local military spouses who place their artwork and crafts on consignment.
Congratulations, NOSC!