Jennifer Barnhill is a columnist for Military.com writing about military families.
Military spouses are often encouraged to pursue volunteerism as a way to stay professionally relevant during relocations and career disruptions. But while organizations benefit from a steady stream of unpaid, skilled labor, the payoff for spouses is far less certain. Are they getting the same return on investment -- or just filling in the gaps in Defense Department programming?
Natalie Worthan, founder and CEO of Veterans Collaborative and a veteran Army spouse who was awarded the President's Volunteer Service Award in 2007, began volunteering with Army Emergency Relief (AER) after arriving at her husband's first duty station at Fort Drum, in rural New York. Before volunteering, Worthan said she tried to find employment at retail stores like Gap, but landed at AER because of its mission and the skills it allowed her to develop.
"It was almost 40 hours a week," she said. Her struggle to find paid employment continued at her next duty station, forcing her to take another volunteer role to stay professionally relevant. Finally, at her third duty station, she landed a volunteer role that led to a paid position. Rather than be a magic resume bullet, her volunteerism turned into paid employment only 33% of the time.
"When I had to sit there and actually add it up … the gaps in employment, the volunteerism, opportunities that were unpaid or unbenefited, the monetary losses are huge," Worthan said. Despite these early sacrifices, it was clear from Worthan's demeanor that she viewed her volunteer experiences as a net positive -- personally and professionally.
Over the years, it has struck me just how many military spouses were happy to talk about instances where their volunteerism served them. While data shows that volunteerism offers many personal and professional benefits, I wondered why so few were talking about the downsides. In 2021, I surveyed military spouse club volunteers to find out why.
Those who answered the survey cited many reasons for volunteering: Some had a strategic professional purpose, others did it for social engagement, and others were "voluntold." Their strategic goals were all over the map.
Nearly anything could be responsible for a volunteer's satisfaction with their experience. A good friend, a resume bullet, a distraction from a duty station with next to no paid opportunities -- the list of positives was as varied as the volunteers themselves. While many had negative experiences with aspects of volunteerism, the benefits of interpersonal connections seemed to outweigh their immediate frustrations.
In 2022, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Navy, Air Force and Army to quantify military spouse volunteerism by obtaining the total number of hours donated by military spouse volunteers to inform a book I'm writing, "The Military Stories You've Been Told & the Ones You Need to Hear." The Army volunteers served in places like the Red Cross, Family Advocacy Program and recreation centers.
My research revealed that military spouse volunteerism likely saves the DoD nearly a billion dollars annually. While this cost savings may help sustain underfunded programs, it also masks unmet staffing needs.
My research taught me a valuable lesson: Volunteerism is always strategic for the organization, but is inconsistently strategic for the military spouse volunteer.
A Military Spouse Urban Legend?
Many spouses I spoke to believe the skills they build in volunteer roles can open doors -- and sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Does that mean strategic volunteerism is just another military spouse urban legend?
"They're being told, because I've been also told this, this is going to help you in your career to be a family readiness leader," said Amanda Scott. She shared that this was one of the reasons she decided to volunteer her time to co-author what she calls her "manifesto" on the role of military spouses and readiness for the Association of Defense Communities (ADC).
In speaking with a DoD leader at an ADC event, she was told, "We don't expect anything from military spouses." Scott quickly responded by asking them who runs their family readiness programming. The leader replied, "They're volunteering; they want to be doing it."
"If you are using volunteers to fill a strategic priority, then it's not a strategic priority," said Scott. Her statement underscores the very real tension faced by military officials who balance resource gaps and strategic imperatives -- creating a cycle of dysfunction.
The military thinks military spouses want to volunteer because we keep doing it. And we keep doing it because we observe a legitimate need not being filled by the DoD.
A Red Cross office in Yokota, Japan, was recognized by the Air Force, which said the location had 86 volunteers in 2023 who donated 3,574 hours, with only two paid staff members. The volunteers work at the Air Force terminal to ensure it is cleaned and well-stocked for military personnel and their families. That same Red Cross office regularly puts out calls on its Facebook page for volunteers to fill roles at its Military Treatment Facility, posting, "The Yokota Pediatric clinic is looking for nurse volunteers to help make a difference in the community. 🌟🤝 If you are trying to stay active within your field and further your career with valuable experience, then this is the opportunity for you."
In 2023, the Yokota Clinic announced it was reducing services for DoD civilians to a space available basis, resulting in some leaving their posts. Military.com reached out to the Yokota Red Cross office for comment but did not receive a reply before publication.
One area that often relies upon military spouse volunteerism is the military nonprofit ecosystem.
"What really bothered me about those organizations, I mean, their finances are public, so you do know how much money they get," shared Army spouse Kayla Corbitt, who was shocked to discover how much the community relied upon volunteerism in her early days founding the military-serving nonprofit Operation Child Care Project (OCCP). "Those are the same organizations that we would see calling for volunteers from those in the trenches, those that they are supposed to be serving." She calls it the military community business model.
As a military spouse, she wanted to do something different when she had the opportunity. In its first year, OCCP raised only $5,000. By the second year, thanks to successful pitch competitions, it grew to $30,000 in funding.
"I started by just doing little things. So people who were volunteering with me, they got stipends," said Corbitt. As of today, Operation Child Care Project has only two volunteers and five paid contract employees. Corbitt does not collect a salary.
Other military nonprofit organizations also have models that appropriately utilize military spouse volunteers through clearly defined, time-bound functions. The Military Spouse Advocacy Network (MSAN) brings together military spouses for mentorship and social connection. The National Military Family Association (NMFA) trains volunteers to tell their stories to military and congressional leadership for a "Day on the Hill." Both help develop leadership and technical skills, but if these volunteer roles were paid, they might lose their authenticity.
Do Employers Really Value Volunteerism?
Tracy Steele was living in Okinawa, Japan, while her spouse was serving overseas. Like many military spouses overseas, she struggled to find paid employment in her career field as a registered nurse. She volunteered with numerous organizations, including the American Welfare and Works Association, which helped her develop many professional skills and build her network. She also launched her own volunteer venture called Beyond Volunteering, collaborating with Marine Corps Community Services to help military spouses translate their volunteer experience for their resumes. Eventually, her volunteer hours added up, providing her enough experience to sit for a certification exam to become a professional resume writer.
"Those steps helped me get to where I am now, my position with Hiring Our Heroes," Steele shared. She has taken the lessons she learned as a volunteer with her in her role, believing that strategic volunteerism does work, with the right employer. However, she admits that not all employers agree on how to value volunteerism.
"I hear from recruiters, hiring managers all the time, and the work I do, they don't care if the work is paid or unpaid. They want you to get your hands-on experience," she said. But she also hears the conflicting messages. "There's going to be some industries that think that the volunteer work is nice that you did that, but [say], 'I want to see your paid employment.'"
Steele believes that her strategic volunteerism helped her gain the necessary experience she needed to open a door for her at her current role. Her current company saw and valued both her network and skillset and didn't care where she obtained her experience.
However, it is unclear how employers at large value volunteerism. Even the government is somewhat unclear. While USAJobs does encourage applicants to list volunteer experience, it does not break down how the volunteer work would be considered to the level it does for education in lieu of employment experience. And the government is one of the few employers that requires salary disclosures of job applicants, making it hard for military spouses to avoid disclosing whether a role was paid or unpaid.
And if the government doesn't clearly articulate how it values volunteerism, why would we expect industry to do so?
"From a hiring/recruiter perspective, volunteer work is always seen as lesser than paid positions," said a former hiring manager of a global Fortune 500 company that offers special hiring programs for veterans and military spouses, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of violating contract agreements. "I can't think of a single time within either a recruiting process or discussions with a hiring manager that they looked at a volunteer experience as the best qualification for somebody to receive or not receive the job."
Despite inconsistent messages about how volunteerism is seen overall, military spouse volunteers may still find benefits if they approach every opportunity with their eyes open. Because not all volunteer opportunities are strategic for the volunteer.
