Article Display

More than a meal: deployed family dinner

  • Published
  • By Susan Armstrong
  • Shaw AFB Chapel
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  If you have a spouse who is deployed or on a remote tour, plan to be at the Carolina Skies Club at 6 p.m. on September 27 for free home cooking. It's the September deployed family dinner.

Organizers are seeking volunteers to help put on the dinner. Helpers can do something as simple as just holding a baby while a mother walks through the serving line or watching children and keeping them safe, organizers said.

Call the Shaw chapel at 895-1106 to volunteer.

The deployed family dinner is the fourth Monday night of each month at the club. Begun in the chapel annex in 2008 with a couple dozen spouses and children, the last dinner attracted 325 diners.

For many deployed families, organizers say, it has become a welcomed and anticipated monthly event. It is a beautiful example of Team Shaw caring for airmen and their families.

The dinner brings spouses together to network, talk to commanders, first sergeants, key spouses, chapel staff and support agency representatives. The kids get to release their energy jumping in Dora the Explorer bouncy house under the eyes of the Shaw 5/6 Club, or do a craft activity.

Food comes from the home kitchens of a local church or from members of organizations who volunteer their time to show their support to Shaw's Airmen and their families. A team of volunteers serve the meal and offer craft activity for the children.

"It's exciting to see how large this night has become for these families and especially our base," declared Chaplain (Capt.) Lane Campbell. "The overall team effort makes this evening an incredible example of how much love there is for Shaw families and one another."

Chaplain Campbell pointed to comments from past participants such as, "Thank you for this simple yet profound evening. My kids look forward to it and it helps us count down." Another happy diner said, ". . . It's very convenient for me to pick up my kids from the youth center and (child development center) and not have to worry about cooking. It's a stress reliever."