Why Military Families Should Volunteer

There was a time I wanted a career in front of a camera, behind a news desk. That was before I discovered my love of serving military families.

Actually, I had accepted a job as a news anchor in Maine when my life took an unexpected turn toward military support volunteerism. My husband was working on his Ph.D. when the Navy recruited him—to borrow a line from the movies, “it was an offer too good for him to refuse.”

My first experience as a military spouse was rethinking my career. Initially, we thought we could make it work; I’ll follow my career path while my husband’s Navy career takes him around the world. That was an implausible idea, though. We knew it wouldn’t work, so why set ourselves up for failure?

And that was my first introduction to being a military spouse. Country first and a commitment to family. The outcome was a rewarding career that I never expected. 

Let me digress just for a moment. 

I believe volunteerism with military families transcends branches of the service. Military spouse employment and the desire to serve others is critically important topics to us all.

I’ve served as the Head of Well Being Warrior and Family Experience for Hope For The Warriors for the past three years. We focus on all aspects of well-being, including veteran employment support, spouse and caregiver scholarships, and addressing the critical needs of our Warrior community. HOPE’s programs and services fill gaps many services members experience during their transition to civilian life or even many years after separation.

It’s work, a calling that I love. And it would have never been possible had it not been for my husband’s decision to become a commissioned officer in the Navy and our subsequent move to Naval Base San Diego. There I started volunteering and worked as Director of Volunteers Services for the Armed Services YMCA at Naval Medical Center San Diego for four years. 

We were still greeting a large number of medevacs then. It was my first time doing this work, and I will never forget it. It was a very humbling experience. It was a great job; I loved that job.

Life kept happening at a rapid pace for my family. My husband was deployed three times in five years, once as an Individual Augmentee to Iraq with the Army and then two more deployments with the Navy. 

Along the way, we had our first baby boy and moved to Spain. There I found a good fit with the American Red Cross managing volunteers in Spain, Italy, and England.

We had our second sweet baby boy in 2014, and I stepped back from work to be a full-time mom. When we moved back stateside in 2015, I got a job working with the National Science Teachers Association managing volunteers.

I was looking for a place like HOPE. I wanted to get back to directly serving the military community. I wanted to get back to serving our military families, so I interviewed with HOPE, and thankfully, they hired me.

Military families face many unique challenges, and how we come together in times of need is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The way I see my job and responsibility to my HOPE colleagues is to make sure they have the resources and support they need and to ensure our Warrior community has everything they need to live the life they deserve. Our team is comprised of veterans, military spouses, and military families who come to work each day ready to support warriors and their families. To us, it’s personal. We care because we have shared experiences. We know the unique challenges of this military life. 

Our goal at Hope For The Warriors is to make it as easy as possible for people to reach out to us and create meaningful connections that allow warriors and their families to thrive.

That is so rewarding.

Erin Lester is a military spouse and has enjoyed working for several non-profits that support the military and their families. After three deployments, two kids, and several PCS moves, she is now a member of the HOPE family. As the Head of Well Being Warrior and Family Experience, Erin oversees the suite of transition programs and services offered by HOPE. Programs include employment support, spouse and caregiver scholarships, and Transition Critical Support, which fills gaps in that many service members experience during their transition from military to civilian life. Additionally, Erin provides guidance and oversight for two unique and impactful HOPE programs—A Warrior’s Wish® and the Drive For Hope Driving Rehabilitation Program. These programs help restore self, family, and hope through our national transition services, virtual capabilities, and partners in mission. Erin is the installation winner for the Armed Forces Insurance 2022 Military Spouse of the Year for Defense Health Headquarters.