We're here when they go at 50º below!
Become a Member
Sign up today, pay your dues, and join in on the fun!
Thrift Shop
Every donation, every purchase, every hour volunteered impacts our community. Find out how.
Community giving requests
Our mission is to support the Airmen and families of Eielson AFB by funding events that boost the morale, welfare, and wellbeing of our community. Planning something that does just that? Click below to submit a funding request.
About the ESC
Want to know more about who we are? Curious about what we do? Find out more below.
Cookie Crunch
Learn how the ESC brings a taste of home to the dorms every December! It's a longstanding tradition—want to be the tastiest cookie in the bag this year?
Scholarships
Did you know the Eielson Spouses' Club offers an annual scholarship for people seeking higher education? Want to know just how we are able to pull it off?
Becoming a Member
Membership in the Eielson Spouses' Club helps support all the fun activities and events we host throughout each board year! We work hard to bring you events and activities that go above and beyond the cost of your membership.If you'd like to join but can't afford the dues, reach out to us! We've introduced a new system that lets members sponsor others and cover their dues. This is a needs-based system, and we prioritize based on financial need.If you're interested in sponsoring another member, we thank you for your kindness and generosity—click the Sponsor a Member button below to do so.We can't wait to see you at our next event. Welcome to the club!
ESC Thrift Shop
Location:
365 Kodiak St.
Eielson AFB, AKOPEN:
Tuesdays 15:00–18:00
Thursdays 09:00–13:00
Bag sales 09:00–13:00Closed all federal holidays & PACAF Readiness DaysSign up for our Newsletter to get the most up to date info
The ESC Thrift Shop is operated by the Eielson Spouses' Club and staffed by an all-volunteer workforce. We take your donations, and our team of talented helpers sorts, organizes, prices, and displays these items on our sales floor. Other than a small portion used for operational expenses, all of the money we make goes into our community giving program and right back into the local area. It's the most impactful way the Eielson Spouses' Club gives back!Please see the graphic below for what we can't accept—it helps us make the most of our volunteers' time.
We're always looking for eager volunteers to come in and help out!You don't need to be a member of the Eielson Spouses' Club to volunteer at the Thrift Shop.Want to bring your group in to volunteer outside our regular business hours? Click the button below to get connected with our Thrift Shop team!
Volunteer With Us 👋The Eielson Thrift Shop is 100% volunteer-run, and every dollar goes right back into the Eielson community.Drop your info below and we'll be in touch soon!
Community Giving Requests
The Eielson Spouses' Club raises funds for our Community Giving Fund through sales at the ESC Thrift Shop. Thanks to the dedicated work of our volunteers and the generous donations from our community, we're able to maintain a reliable pool of funds. Our Board is directed to distribute these funds to organizations that make a positive impact on the lives of the Eielson AFB community.How it works (please read carefully!):Request periods run from the 26th of one month through the 25th of the next—for example, August 26th through September 25th. After a request period closes, all requests received are reviewed by a committee, which then makes a recommendation to the Board of Directors at their next meeting (usually the first Friday of the month). Continuing the example above, requests from the August 26th–September 25th period would be decided at the first Friday meeting in October.At that meeting, the Board votes on each request. Requestors are notified of the status of their request by email following the meeting. Please note: a request may be approved for a different amount than was requested, and the Board may ask for additional information before making a decision.Because of this timeline, we strongly encourage organizations to submit requests as early as possible. We are unable to fund events that have already taken place, so submitting early helps avoid delays.If you have any questions, please direct them to the Charitable Vice President via email.
We are also currently seeking a dedicated Community Giving Treasurer for our club. If you'd like to be considered for this position, please reach out by email to [email protected] or use the Contact Us button at the bottom of the page.All Board Members must be members of the Eielson Spouses' Club. Details on membership are available on the Become a Member page of our website.
Community Giving Request
The Eielson Spouses' Club
In 2019, the Eielson Spouses' Club was formed when the Eielson Officer Spouses' Club and the Eielson Enlisted Spouses' Club unified. Before that, the two clubs worked separately to better the lives of their members' families—but they decided that by combining their efforts, they could make a greater impact on the Eielson community as a single entity.The Eielson Spouses' Club is actually two entities in one.The Social Club side is a 501(c)(7) membership-supported organization. It holds fundraising events that, in turn, fund member activities and experiences—many of them entirely unique to Alaska and meant to be both enjoyable and enriching.The Charitable side is a 501(c)(3) and runs the Eielson Thrift Shop. Our all-volunteer Thrift Shop takes items generously donated by the community, then sorts, prices, organizes, and sells them back to the community at reasonable prices. Those sales—minus the small cost of keeping everything running—go directly into our Community Giving Fund.This fund goes right back into the Eielson community in ways that positively impact the morale and welfare of the base. We accept funding requests through our website, and each month our Board of Directors meets to decide which organizations to fund. Every quality item you donate helps us support things like youth activities, squadron celebrations, ALS graduations, promotions, retirements, and holiday parties across the base!We couldn't do this without your support and the dedicated work of our amazing volunteers.
So who are these people on the Board of Directors?
Allow us to introduce ourselves:Executive Board:
President: Nicole Gebhardt
Operational Vice President: Ines Ruiz
Charitable Vice President: Lukas Jones
Secretary: Ashley White
Administrative Treasurer: Lynsy Carrell
Community Giving Treasurer: OPENHonorary Board:
Honorary President: Dr. Jamie Johnston
Advisor: Erica Anderson
Advisor: Holly Neske
Advisor: Katie DoyleBoard Members:
Thrift Shop Liaison: Emily LeBlanc
Scholarships: Lynsy Carrell
Cookie Crunch: Hailey Orozco
Socials/Mini-Clubs: Clare Pinter
Publicity: Neka Blair
Membership: Cassidy Faircloth
Fundraising: OPENInterested in applying for one of those open positions? Click the Email icon below and send us a message! We would love to hear from you!
Scholarships
Throughout the year the ESC Thrift Shop raises money for various Community Giving programs under the 501(c)3 branch of our organization. One of the ways we reinvest these funds back into the Eielson Community is through our Annual Scholarship Program.Eligible Graduating High School Seniors, Military Spouses pursuing higher education, Military Service Members, AF Retirees and their direct families are eligible to apply for scholarships during the application acceptance period. Once the application acceptance period closes, a vetted panel of impartial judges will blindly judge the application packets across a matrix of criteria to ensure that our scholarship program is handled with the utmost integrity and quality.After the judging ends, applicants are invited to a banquet where we celebrate their commitment to continuing their educational pursuits as well as the hardworking and dedicated volunteers who made the funding for the scholarship possible. At this banquet, we not only get to celebrate the applicants and award them with their scholarship checks, but we also get a chance to meet them and learn more about their educational goals and why the judges decided they were worthy of winning the scholarship awards.While our scholarship applications are currently closed, we do recommend you sign up for all updates that the Eielson Spouses' Club offers so that you are the first to know when the scholarship program opens again for the 2026-2027 board year. We recommend applying early to ensure that your application is received in a timely manner and any identified issues can be resolved before the application window closes.