Military Spouse Appreciation Day: Finding Meaningful Work for Milspouses

​In 1984, President Ronald Reagan issued the first proclamation for a day dedicated to military spouses, Military Spouse Appreciation Day. Since then, the Friday before Mother’s Day has served as this important day where we honor the contributions and sacrifices made by military spouses. We recognize their commitment and support help to keep our country safe.

Though our country has set this day aside to honor military spouses, there is no denying that military spouses face unique employment trials and tribulations. According to a survey done by Blue Star Families, 79% of military spouses reported a negative impact to their career due to being a military spouse. Be it promotion, licensing issues or lack of appropriate employment milspouses face an unemployment rate of between 18-30% which is much higher than the national unemployment rate.
The reasons behind these troubling statistics is the hardships of military life. The job demands of the military member are strenuous. Deployments, travel and long hours contribute to the difficulty in milspouses finding meaningful work. The lack of access to affordable childcare is another challenge that military spouses face. Moving to a new area and getting acclimated is another contributing factor that makes it challenging to find employment.

And many times, if a military spouse finds employment, it is unfulfilling. Underemployment is a huge issue for military spouses. Many of them are not able to use their college and post-graduate degrees. Frequently, the work available to them is part time or seasonal. Employers are hesitant to hire military spouses, because they move every 2-3 years. It is not fair, but it is a reality.

With all of this said, military spouses are awesome! They are strong. They come from different backgrounds and have a wide variety of education and experiences. I began Freedom Makers with all of this in mind. While in the Air Force, I saw spouses who had trouble finding employment and struggled with how to achieve their employment goals while moving around the world. As the daughter of an Army veteran and sister-in-law to an Air Force spouse, I saw these challenges up close within my family.

I began my company as a recruiter to small businesses. But I morphed into Freedom Makers after realizing that many times small businesses are not looking to hire full time assistance. They often prefer someone virtual or part time who can fulfill tasks when needed. Taking what I already knew about military spouses, I combined an untapped resource (military spouses) with the needs of small business owners.
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It is our goal to bring meaningful work to military spouses and great virtual assistants to small business owners. Freedom Makers’ mission is to support military spouses and their families by creating a path to stable, uninterrupted employment and income. I challenge everyone out there to hire a military spouse. I guarantee you will not regret it. They truly are the unsung heroes behind our military! ​