Sponsor Families

Heatherg21

Heatherg21

USNA '24 Mom BGO Bacon Lover Dog Lover
Joined
Jun 26, 2019
Messages
5,616
Our DS spent his first day in the home of his sponsor yesterday. I think he underestimated how much he would enjoy it, and how much he needed to get off the yard. Besides Christmas leave, he hadn't left the yard for more than an hour or two to grab a meal. He had said Bancroft is quiet during liberty and he gets rest. But, with my urging and his sponsor's invitation, he went.

It was awesome. He brought his glove (one of their kids plays baseball) and the young man asked him to play catch. They included him in their walk to a friend's for Easter brunch. He visited with his sponsor dad (career Army officer) and has new insight there. He did say 'go Army' was a household theme, good natured ribbing definitely happened.

They provided a quiet spot for homework.

They have 2 dogs, which likely was the best part of his day. Christmas leave 2021 will be a year since he will have been with his own dogs.

I just want to say thank you to all who sponsor mids and cadets; it means the world to this parent and I am sure all parents. To open your home and your family to strangers and offer a respite-even on a holiday is no small thing.

Thank you!!!!
 
Heatherg21 said:
Our DS spent his first day in the home of his sponsor yesterday. I think he underestimated how much he would enjoy it, and how much he needed to get off the yard. Besides Christmas leave, he hadn't left the yard for more than an hour or two to grab a meal. He had said Bancroft is quiet during liberty and he gets rest. But, with my urging and his sponsor's invitation, he went.

It was awesome. He brought his glove (one of their kids plays baseball) and the young man asked him to play catch. They included him in their walk to a friend's for Easter brunch. He visited with his sponsor dad (career Army officer) and has new insight there. He did say 'go Army' was a household theme, good natured ribbing definitely happened.

They provided a quiet spot for homework.

They have 2 dogs, which likely was the best part of his day. Christmas leave 2021 will be a year since he will have been with his own dogs.

I just want to say thank you to all who sponsor mids and cadets; it means the world to this parent and I am sure all parents. To open your home and your family to strangers and offer a respite-even on a holiday is no small thing.

Thank you!!!!
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This is great. Sponsor families are amazing! It's very important for MIDS to get off the Yard once and a while. These COVID times have been difficult-however all MIDN will be better off for having stuck it out. Thank a sponsor!
 
Heatherg21 said:
Our DS spent his first day in the home of his sponsor yesterday. I think he underestimated how much he would enjoy it, and how much he needed to get off the yard. Besides Christmas leave, he hadn't left the yard for more than an hour or two to grab a meal. He had said Bancroft is quiet during liberty and he gets rest. But, with my urging and his sponsor's invitation, he went.

It was awesome. He brought his glove (one of their kids plays baseball) and the young man asked him to play catch. They included him in their walk to a friend's for Easter brunch. He visited with his sponsor dad (career Army officer) and has new insight there. He did say 'go Army' was a household theme, good natured ribbing definitely happened.

They provided a quiet spot for homework.

They have 2 dogs, which likely was the best part of his day. Christmas leave 2021 will be a year since he will have been with his own dogs.

I just want to say thank you to all who sponsor mids and cadets; it means the world to this parent and I am sure all parents. To open your home and your family to strangers and offer a respite-even on a holiday is no small thing.

Thank you!!!!
Click to expand...
Loved reading this!!! So glad he was able to spend the day with his sponsor family!! Sounds like it was wonderful.
 
Exactly not all are great.be so grateful if your mid has sponsors who are in it for the right reasons (Not as a status symbol oh look friend I am a navy sponsor mom)and who respect the mids the shared mission to keep them safe.. some sponsors think they are above the rules and create unsafe situations for the kids assigned to them. Oh and when the sponsors also respect the values with which their assigned mids are raised and don’t talk down to the biological parents (ie sponsors think we are better than you parents who raised this kid and poo poo on the values you raised them with)... added bonus.. so yes be grateful for those mids who have awesome sponsors and for those parents who know their mids are safe in those homes.
 
ThankYouToAllWhoServe said:
Exactly not all are great.be so grateful if your mid has sponsors who are in it for the right reasons (Not as a status symbol oh look friend I am a navy sponsor mom)and who respect the mids the shared mission to keep them safe.. some sponsors think they are above the rules and create unsafe situations for the kids assigned to them. Oh and when the sponsors also respect the values with which their assigned mids are raised and don’t talk down to the biological parents (ie sponsors think we are better than you parents who raised this kid and poo poo on the values you raised them with)... added bonus.. so yes be grateful for those mids who have awesome sponsors and for those parents who know their mids are safe in those homes.
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Sounds like there's a story in there. If the sponsor relationship is not working out, why would the mid continue to visit the house? No one is obligated. We sponsored at WP and cadets were often 'adopted' into other sponsor families when their original assignment didn't work out. It usually happened through a roommate or a teammate. Is that not the case with the USNA program? You need someplace that you are comfortable going in order for it to work!
 
If a sponsor is not great, why do they become a sponsor in the 1st place? It would seem that it would take certain characteristics to want to be a sponsor and then to be the best one possible.
 
My son lost his sponsor over the summer (moved out of the area) and has not felt particularly welcomed the few times he tagged along with other mids to their sponsors. But that could be him projecting his insecurity on to the situation. At any rate, he is sponsorless and has not left the Yard since January 10th
 
Speaking as a sponsor (since 1996), sponsors do indeed come in all flavors with different sponsoring philosophies, just as parents have different parenting approaches. We have had many adoptees over the years, where it wasn’t a good fit with the assigned original sponsor, and had others drift away from us, for a variety of reasons. Some sponsor families think they have gained an instant babysitter or hired hand, despite the sponsor briefings that discourage that belief. One of ours didn’t work out because as a 3/c, he showed up at the house uninvited (we always plan ahead by email, but can always flex to last-minute requests), driving a car (did not rate that) in civilian clothes (didn’t rate those) with two 3/c buddies, also in civvies, who figured they would crash our movie room and hang for dinner. We had plebes in the house, some studying, some napping, some watching a movie, all in the allowed Navy PT gear. We went out to meet them (I happened to look out the front window and was very surprised) and let them know their behavior was unacceptable to us professionally, and would set the wrong example if we let them in the house with plebes, as well as something we couldn’t do because of our own professional reputations. We could also smell the beer on them, and knew two were underage. He never returned to our house, though invited, and our mids told us he had drifted to an alumni sponsor famous for ignoring all the rules and providing a frat house atmosphere and “amenities.”

For my husband’s recent milestone birthday, I invited the vast array of sponsor family members (some are Captains now) to blow up his iPhone with birthday greetings, good memories of life at our house, photos. His phone started going off (the Sherwood hunting horn) at 0830 and went all day and into the evening.

Sponsoring is one of the most enriching things we have ever done. We get just as much out of it as what we put in. We did take last year off and took no new plebes, and have only visited with mids in the driveway. We look forward to a gradual return of normal sponsor activities.
 
ders_dad said:
My son lost his sponsor over the summer (moved out of the area) and has not felt particularly welcomed the few times he tagged along with other mids to their sponsors. But that could be him projecting his insecurity on to the situation. At any rate, he is sponsorless and has not left the Yard since January 10th
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He can stop by the sponsor office, call or email Rose, and ask to be assigned to a new sponsor, though it is getting late in the year. The sponsor program is officially for plebes, and anything after that is up to the mids and sponsors.
 
ders_dad said:
My son lost his sponsor over the summer (moved out of the area) and has not felt particularly welcomed the few times he tagged along with other mids to their sponsors. But that could be him projecting his insecurity on to the situation. At any rate, he is sponsorless and has not left the Yard since January 10th
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Our son's sponsor's signed up for four mids, and only our son and one other plebe attend. Maybe your son could be adopted by my son's sponsor? Or have him reach out to Rose and set a new one up for next year. Great outlet, and not just for plebes. All mids can use the support I would imagine.
And the 6 flavors of ice cream @Capt MJ has in the freezer along with napping and cuddly dogs.
 
Our son commissioned in 2019 and his sponsor family became his second family. And, it was even better that his sponsor family also sponsored his best friend/roommate/brother-from-another-mother. These people who open their hearts and homes to our kids are truly serving those who serve, and they are living lives that we should all aspire to live. Thank you sponsor families!
 
From an old mid: a good sponsor is the best thing that ever happened to a mid. My sponsor family lived/still lives in a smalll house out in Eastport. They sponsored at least 2 mids from each class the entire time I was at USNA. They let us occupy their home on weekends. They gave us places to crash, hang out, cook, eat, entertain their kids, bring our siblings when they were in town. I didn't realize at the time how incredibly generous they were. As a parent of 4 young adults now, I wish every college had a sponsor program. If you are a sponsor: THANK YOU!!!!! And if my DS's medical waiver every miraculously appears, I certainly hope he is as lucky as I was.
 
Our son is very lucky with his sponsor family. They sponsor two Mids. I have now been to their house several times and feel like family. As others have said, sometimes it doesn't work out. I've heard of sponsor families not even showing up to the meet-and-greet and just vanish away. There are several sponsor famiies who allow full-fledged parties at their home. Underage drinking and all that goes along with it. It's not a perfect system. Nothing is.
 
Capt MJ said:
Speaking as a sponsor (since 1996), sponsors do indeed come in all flavors with different sponsoring philosophies, just as parents have different parenting approaches. We have had many adoptees over the years, where it wasn’t a good fit with the assigned original sponsor, and had others drift away from us, for a variety of reasons. Some sponsor families think they have gained an instant babysitter or hired hand, despite the sponsor briefings that discourage that belief. One of ours didn’t work out because as a 3/c, he showed up at the house uninvited (we always plan ahead by email, but can always flex to last-minute requests), driving a car (did not rate that) in civilian clothes (didn’t rate those) with two 3/c buddies, also in civvies, who figured they would crash our movie room and hang for dinner. We had plebes in the house, some studying, some napping, some watching a movie, all in the allowed Navy PT gear. We went out to meet them (I happened to look out the front window and was very surprised) and let them know their behavior was unacceptable to us professionally, and would set the wrong example if we let them in the house with plebes, as well as something we couldn’t do because of our own professional reputations. We could also smell the beer on them, and knew two were underage. He never returned to our house, though invited, and our mids told us he had drifted to an alumni sponsor famous for ignoring all the rules and providing a frat house atmosphere and “amenities.”

For my husband’s recent milestone birthday, I invited the vast array of sponsor family members (some are Captains now) to blow up his iPhone with birthday greetings, good memories of life at our house, photos. His phone started going off (the Sherwood hunting horn) at 0830 and went all day and into the evening.

Sponsoring is one of the most enriching things we have ever done. We get just as much out of it as what we put in. We did take last year off and took no new plebes, and have only visited with mids in the driveway. We look forward to a gradual return of normal sponsor activities.
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Hired hand...LOL! my incoming plebe would probably enjoy cleaning the weeds out of someone’s flower beds or garden, mowing the lawn, repotting plants 😅 And he LOVES to grill...

But all kidding aside...knowing this is available to him will make my heart ❤️ less heavy while he is away. Prayers 🙏 he would/will receive a match made in heaven!
 
93RN said:
Hired hand...LOL! my incoming plebe would probably enjoy cleaning the weeds out of someone’s flower beds or garden, mowing the lawn, repotting plants 😅 And he LOVES to grill...

But all kidding aside...knowing this is available to him will make my heart ❤️ less heavy while he is away. Prayers 🙏 he would/will receive a match made in heaven!
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Totally agree on this!! Praying my plebe gets a great sponsor family!!!
 
93RN said:
Hired hand...LOL! my incoming plebe would probably enjoy cleaning the weeds out of someone’s flower beds or garden, mowing the lawn, repotting plants 😅 And he LOVES to grill...

But all kidding aside...knowing this is available to him will make my heart ❤️ less heavy while he is away. Prayers 🙏 he would/will receive a match made in heaven!
Click to expand...
My son has his regular assigned sponsors...they are great! He also spends time with another MIDN at his sponsors...My son says he has adopted the second set. Both families have young kids and the MIDN are great role models. I was talking to my Sons Sponsor Mom and she says that many former MIDS of hers stay in touch. In fact my son had a Navy career question and the Sponsor asked a LCDR (former MIDN of hers) to reach out to my son---he did so the next day. My wife and I visit the Sponsor family - usually take them out to dinner when we visit Annapolis. Pre-Covid of course. Go Navy!
 
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