Members of the Whidbey Island (Wash.) Chapter (WICMOAA) are sharing their military service stories - for a good cause. Profits from the sales of their book Tales of Military Service (Creative Space, 2018) support the chapter's scholarship and Junior ROTC (JROTC) programs.

This unique fundraising idea came from Cmdr. Terry Sparks, USN (Ret), second vice president and newsletter editor of WICMOAA, who has published seven other books. He took the lead coordinating, formatting, and creating the book from submissions from himself and 23 other authors from the chapter.

All proceeds from the book's sales help local high school students, either through the WICMOAA Scholarship Fund, which helps students entering a four-year college program, or by supporting local JROTC programs. WICMOAA annually presents two $1,500 scholarships and supports three JROTC units through medal, ribbon, and award certificate presentations and a $500 donation to each unit.

Sparks says the programs also are funded by donations from chapter members, an annual Whidbey Playhouse buyout event, raffles, and occasional sales of T-shirts or other memorabilia.

“It had looked like our donations were going to come up short this year to support these programs, but I am hopeful the book will fill the gap,” Sparks says.

As of early June, nearly 80 books had been sold through Amazon and locally, including at the PBY-Naval Air Museum in Oak Harbor, yielding a profit of over $880.

“If we can raise a bunch of money for our scholarship and JROTC programs, great,” Sparks says. “Even if we raise a little, it's better than nothing. I just want to see the kids get some money.”

Sparks hopes to publish a second volume. “There's the side benefit that the book is a mechanism for our members to share their stories with their kids and grandkids and have them live on.”