GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria is booming with ways for spouses to become a part of the community. This includes everything from working to volunteering, to starting a business, to going to school.

Navigating all these opportunities may be overwhelming, and the Career and Volunteer Fair on Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Tower View Conference Center is a one-stop opportunity to find out everything the garrison has to offer.

"I like to think I am pretty well informed on what's going on in the community, but even after nine months of being in Bavaria, I learn about new opportunities every day," said Spc. Brea Dubose, a broadcaster with the Armed Forces Network.

The fair is host to over 40 organizations across the garrison. All DoD ID cardholders are welcome, but the top priority of the fair is to expose new spouses to all that the garrison has to offer.

"Spouses should come to the Career and Volunteer Fair because we are making it easier for you," said Command Sgt. Maj. Micheal D. Sutterfield, the USAG Bavaria command sergeant major, about the convenience of coming to the fair.

At any given time, the garrison has hundreds of job openings. However, the openings are through multiple employers.

"You want to come to the career fair because there will be companies there, there will be employers, there will be contractors who are looking for talent, and they are looking to hire you," said Bushra Ghani, ACS's Employment Readiness Program manager.

Volunteering in the garrison is another way to become a part of the community. With over 1,800 positions across the garrison, the fair is an ideal place to network.

"If you are looking for volunteering, there are different organizations that support our community, and they would like to have your talent," said Ghani. "And you are not only volunteering, you are gaining skills that you can apply later on and put it on your resume as a skill gained."

In additional to hosting booths, the fair will highlight the federal hiring process at a workshop at 10:30 a.m. There are currently over 50 openings for federal positions across the garrison. The Civilian Personnel Activity Center will lead an overview of the process, and then open the floor to discussion and questions from members of the audience.

USAG Bavaria's Army Community Service provides family advocacy, volunteer, relocation, deployment, employment and financial support services to Soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and families through their offices in Rose Barracks, Tower Barracks, Hohenfels and Garmisch. Learn more at grafenwoehr.armymwr.com.

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Editor's note: This is the fourth in a six-part series about tools and resources available to promote empowerment and resiliency among spouses in USAG Bavaria. The other articles are available at www.bavariannews.com