ABC's of Service

[Sugah]

I don't share a lot on here about my direct involvement with the fellowship, but we had an event yesterday that I just had to talk about.

I am the CPC/PI chair for my AA district (Cooperation with the Professional Community/Public Information). I was sitting with my husband, our DCM, waiting for folks to show up for a committee meeting prior to the regular district meeting. We were talking with one other woman who'd come early to open the church and make the coffee. Our district seems to have gone up and down in district-wide service participation, and six weeks ago at this non-existent committee meeting, we were definitely at an ebb stage. My husband asked the question, "How do we get people involved?" My answer (read: opinion) was that many folks equated service with huge time commitments and it scared them away. Then we talked about the many events we have annually and how none of them have as their sole focus the many different kinds of service.

Well, long story short, we tossed out the idea of a service picnic during the regular district meeting, and inside of five minutes, we nailed down a date, a name for it ("The ABC's of Service"), my husband offered up our house and grounds (we have five acres and are centrally located within the district - so no money laid out to rent a hall or a pavilion in a local park), and I walked away with the blessing to make a flyer for distribution. I started working with our trusted webservant on getting the word out, setting up the format, etc., and my husband started making phone calls. We had a pile of people in our front yard, including lots of folks from all over western PA, and folks got up and shared on service in the home group, the district, the area, all the related committees, etc. They also talked about what service has done for their sobriety. People left with a five-page handout on all the various areas of service along with a lot of ideas on how to help newcomers get involved.

With the 50/50 tickets we made available during the meal (before the actual meeting) and the hat we passed, we covered the cost of the burgers & dogs, and the covered dishes that everyone brought were wonderful. It was a wonderful day for all three sides of the third-legacy triangle.

I just wanted to share that, as well as ask for input. What do you do with your AA district or within your home group to get and keep folks involved in AA service?

Peace & Love,
Sugah

[fraankie]

wow
that's getting people invplved


best
fraankie

[Tazman53]

What am I doing to get folks involved in service? Not enough, I have a service position and got my sponsee into one, I am hoping to take over our district news letter once I get things straightened out on my home front. I may just use the news letter to drum up some service works for those in need of it.

[barb dwyer]

I'm the group GSR, and just went to my first district meeting ...
it was great - and - if they're having a picnic - they didn't invite me !

LOL

I think some of the hesitation to volunteer for service also comes from a fear of messing things up .. well, if you've got NO ONE ,,, (doing a task that needs doing, I mean)
it's kinda hard to mess up NOTHING, you know?

I'll be keeping up with this thread to see what else you come up with!

[Sugah]

I'm glad to see this thread getting some responses! I was a little concerned, thinking maybe the idea of a service structure was falling out of fashion. That'd be awful....

One of the things we did was to break down the different committees into service jobs each homegroup could do. Like Corrections: it requires a year's sobriety to submit your name for approval to take a meeting into the jail, and folks think, "I don't have enough time," or "I'm not suited to that kind of 'carrying of the message'" but there are lots of things folks can do to help out the Correction committee. Collecting old Grapevines, passing a Pink Can for Big Books & literature, helping to remove the staples from pamphlets, volunteering to be a "Bridging the Gap" contact person -- each homegroup could ask for a male & female volunteer who would send a postcard to inmates around their release date with a phone number so that they can have an conversation with someone outside the jail, maybe arrange to meet face to face at a meeting, and make the act of walking into the rooms easier. There are no requirements that these contact folks have to sponsor, offer rides or anything other than a handshake or hug and a little reassurance. Each group could ask for someone willing to write to an inmate. There's a program now that pairs letter writers up with a same-sex inmate in areas that don't have meetings, or that do but someone would like a penpal/temporary sponsee to begin step work, and to avoid trust and/or safety issues, the letters are sent through New York to someone in a different part of the country.

The lists we came up with in brainstorming were endless. CPC/PI, my committee, is limited only by the money available and the willing hands to do the work. And it doesn't take a lot of time. One guy with just a little time has been making the rounds once a month to the local schools, checking the racks & letting the committee know when & what literature is needed. I've been sending in pairs of speakers (one man, one woman) to a DUI class about their experience, strength & hope.

Wherever drunks are still sick and suffering, there are opportunities!

Peace & Love,
Sugah