Maria Diaz leads AWAG volunteers in a session of Zumba on Wednesday during AWAG’s annual conference at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch, Germany. The three-day event drew about 250 volunteers for training from across Europe. AWAG is a non-profit organization founded more than 50 years ago to help support and connect volunteers at military bases in Europe. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

GARMISCH, Germany — Once upon a time, volunteers at military bases in Europe wore starched skirts, conservative heels and coiffed hairstyles.

A black-and-white photograph shows a group of women posing in front of Hotel General Von Steuben in early post-war Germany, during a long-ago volunteer retreat.

What would they think of the present crop of volunteers, who this week at their annual conference at Edelweiss Lodge and Resort donned clown wigs and big sunglasses, raffled off diamond jewelry, shook their hips doing Zumba, and — gasp — included a smattering of men?

They would probably applaud.

While fashions and gender roles may have changed, the spirit of volunteerism endures at military communities in Europe, where one group has been working for more than 50 years to motivate, train and support those who give of their time.

American Women’s Activities, Germany (AWAG) this week put on its 53rd annual conference, themed "Community Strong," comprising three days of professional and personal development that drew speakers with four stars and twice as many stripes and about 250 volunteers.

The delegates, as the volunteers in attendance were called, had their choice of workshops ranging from the practical to the therapeutic. They could learn about effective listening and goal-setting, how to create volunteer award packages and new ideas for "ice breakers," key to attracting new members to any organization. But there were also opportunities for wine-tasting, and hand and foot massages.

Organizers said the conference is aimed at better preparing volunteers for the jobs they do in their military communities, whether that be leading Girl Scouts, running a bazaar or scholarship committee, or looking after spouses while their active-duty servicemembers are deployed.

It’s also intended to give volunteers fresh ideas while recharging their public-service batteries.

"Some of them are burnt out; some of them say, ‘Well, it seems like the same old meetings,’ " said AWAG publicity chairwoman Angela Brumbaugh, a volunteer from RAF Mildenhall, England. "This is to bring the volunteers the support that they need. What’s going to make it easier, better and motivate people to continue to do it?"

It’s the same mission AWAG embodied when, in 1946, a small group of Army wives formed a committee to coordinate the distribution of relief aid sent by stateside clubs and church groups to post-war Germany. It would be another 10 years before AWAG was formed and the first annual conference was held.

Though the name AWAG has stuck, Brumbaugh said it’s no longer an acronym.

"We’re just AWAG," she said, explaining that with a geographical reach spanning Europe and the addition of men and even teenagers to its volunteer ranks, the group is not just for American women in Germany anymore.

Audra Green, whose husband is an Army Apache helicopter pilot, is new to volunteering and the overseas military community.

"I got somewhat thrown into all this," the 24-year-old Green said. "When we moved here, I found out [a family readiness group] exists [for her husband’s unit], but it’s not going too well. I got asked to jump in, and here I am."

For some volunteers, the motivation to serve their communities was planted at a young age.

"I grew up as a military kid and some of my best memories are things like the bazaar and scouting trips," said James Wrede, 38, the husband of an Air Force family practice physician.

In less than a year at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Wrede is poised to be the next officers spouses’ club president; he’s also a scout master, a Red Cross instructor and a father who likes to "just hang out" at his kids’ schools.

"I came from another overseas assignment and learned if you don’t jump in right away, you’re going to flounder for a while," he said.

Maria Diaz leads AWAG volunteers in a session of Zumba on Wednesday during AWAG’s annual conference at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort in Garmisch, Germany. The three-day event drew about 250 volunteers for training from across Europe. AWAG is a non-profit organization founded more than 50 years ago to help support and connect volunteers at military bases in Europe. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

Felicia Escalante, an Air Force spouse and volunteer from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, takes notes during a workshop Wednesday at AWAG’s annual conference. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)

Volunteers let down their hair and dressed in costume for an evening dinner Wednesday night at AWAG’s annual conference. (Jennifer H. Svan / Stars and Stripes)