Our Friends
“Whether it be months away from home or the long hours required for training, it is impossible for my family and I to avoid the effects of this sacrifice on our personal lives.”
“The Spencer family is my family. I had the privilege and blessing to meet Bruce, Donna, Pat, Cam, and Will in Rhode Island in 2006 while attending prep school. From attending family dinners to putting the boys to bed, the Spencers gave me a legitimate home away from home from our first introduction. Over the past 18 years, I have gotten to know the Spencer clan well. I am incredibly humbled by their continued generosity and support.
Attending the boys’ sporting events with Bruce, Donna, and the boys’ grandparents, George, Martha, Jack, and Sylvia, consistently made me understand the family's special and unique love. Bruce and Donna have always been another set of parents to me and treated me like their son. They have supported my family and me countless times, from helping ship a vehicle across the country for a military move to rushing to my house at midnight to watch my oldest son when my middle son was born. Their love and support is infinite.
Those who have served our country know that being in a career of military service comes with sacrifice - missed childbirths, holidays, birthdays, and other special events. Support and love from family and friends like the Spencers have an immeasurable impact. When I saw Pat and Cam starting a foundation to give back to those who have served our country, I was not surprised. From an incredibly early age, Pat, Cam, and Will understood the sacrifices military members make while serving, and their actions clearly show this. Service to protect our homeland requires a willingness to participate in an exhaustive game of family and work harmonization, and love and support from organizations and humans like the Spencers have decisive impacts. Our world needs more people like the Spencers - they are one of a kind.”
- Naval Academy Midshipman
I attended the United States Naval Academy from 2014 to 2018 in pursuit of earning my commission as a military officer. I have always been drawn to military service. Growing up and being raised in a family where service to others was seen as the highest calling as well as a childhood of team sports ultimately guided me to finding my calling within the military. The Naval Academy has an amazing program for the Midshipmen called the Sponsor Program. The Sponsor Program connects Midshipmen with families in the Annapolis area and allows individuals like me to have a home away from home. I was blessed to be paired with the Spencer Family as a freshman. The Spencer’s opened their home to me, gave me a seat at their dinner table, a bed to sleep in, and made me a part of their family. Being away from my family was something I expected to endure when I joined the military, but I never expected to also gain a new one as well. I owe Donna, Bruce, Pat, Cam, and Will more than I could ever repay for inviting me to their family’s Thanksgiving meals, losing to me in the annual family Easter egg hunt, and to this day checking in on me as I continue my career in the Marine Corps. The support that they have given me is something that I will cherish forever and I will always be in their debt.
- Naval Academy Midshipman