The Officers’ Spouses’ Club of MCAS Yuma held their Scholarship and Philanthropy Awards Banquet on May 8, 2012. They awarded three $1,000 scholarships to military family members: one each to high school seniors Amanda McShane and Sophia Cole, and one to continuing education family member, Julia Mueller. The Yuma YMCA was the recipient of the Military Family Initiative Award of $1000. The Philanthropy Award Recipients were: Yuma Food Bank, who received $1000; MCAS Yuma Library, who received $500 in children’s books; the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (T.A.P.S.), who received $500; and the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society, who received $1,000 in Commissary gift cards.
One of the largest projects the Officers’ Spouses’ Club (OSC) takes on every year is the Holiday Basket program. With the decline in the economy and the price of food soaring, putting a holiday meal on the table has become increasingly hard for our Marines and Sailors. With the help of the station sergeant major who contacts families and organizes delivery, and with the money raised locally during their fundraisers, OSC is able to donate baskets of food and commissary gift cards to these families in their time of need. Over the years, the number has steadily increased so it has become vital that OSC raise enough money to support between 200 to 400 Marine and Sailor families aboard MCAS Yuma. This year, the OSC was able to give away $5575.00 in gift cards for the Holiday Basket program.
The OSC of MCAS Yuma is a non-profit club comprised of spouses of active duty and retired officers as well as the spouses of reserve, widowed, POWs and MIA officers residing in the Yuma area. The OSC’s purpose is to promote good will, friendship, and cultural opportunity among families of officers stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. In addition, they raise funds for the further advancement of activities benefitting ALL military personnel and family members including Holiday Baskets, Educational Scholarships, and various Charitable Donations to other organizations who support military families. The total money raised and given away for the 2011-2012 year was just under $13,000.
For more information on the Officers’ Spouses’ Club of MCAS Yuma, please see their website at www.yumaosc.org <http://www.yumaosc.org/>.
