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Welcome, Sponsors
Welcome?
"A drunk showed up at an AA meeting holding a can of beer and was told, unequivocally, that he could not come in." Read more >
Since the first Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine was published in June 1944 (newspaper format), The AA Grapevine has always included information and articles about sponsorship -- one of the first forms of AA
service.
In 1947, Bill W. wrote, "More and more groups are adopting the idea of 'sponsorship.' Each newcomer is assigned a reasonably stable AA member whose ward he becomes during this brief period of introduction to
our way of life."
In those days, most AAs came into the Fellowship through hospitals of one kind or another. And as the Fellowship grew, so did the role of the sponsor.
Read Many Enter AA Unsponsored, from the May 1948 Grapevine to understand how times have changed, and not changed.
In June 1994, December 2004, and, most recently December 2007, the magazine had Special Sections devoted to Sponsorship. Browse the Digital Archive for these issues.
Here are some of those articles:
Who Sponsors Whom?
"With Ron, I am not sure who the sponsor is; sometimes I carry the umbrella and sometimes Ron carries it. We have laughed at the good times -- weddings, children, and grandchildren. We have endured the
tough times -- the loss of a wife, the death of a child. Through it all, we have always leaned on our friendship, the program, and our belief in a Power greater than ourselves who would carry the day." Read more >
The Best Listeners
"I have bored my sponsor to tears and she has never once complained. She just let me go on and on." Read more >
Download these stories and to read how one sponsor is serious about working the Twelve Steps, as well as the rewards (and some mischances) along the sponsorship trail:
How alcoholics work with each other:
Also browse the topic: "Tools of Sobriety."
You might also want to check out AA's pamphlet: Questions and Answers on Sponsorship
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No Crying Service
"When Bill W. got the 'jitters' out in Akron (back in 1935), he couldn't call another A.A. to furnish cry-on-my-shoulder service. There weren't any other AAs. So he called -- and
called -- until he found a drunk who needed help.
"He finally found 'Doc,' and in helping 'Doc' he forgot his own troubles and stayed sober. If that prescription worked for the founder of our fellowship, and it did, then it will work for us today. So,
instead of always looking up an AA who is staying sober to give us a lift in spirit, it might help all of us to use Bill's 'prescription' once in a while and find a drunk who needs help. Let us not lose
sight of one of the cardinal principles of AA -- 'To help ourselves, we help others.'"
AA Washington, Pa., Bulletin, April 1949
What Helps You to Be a Good Sponsor?
If you've read something in the Grapevine that describes how your sponsorship role was helped or if you'd like to share your own experience, please
contact: gveditorial@aagrapevine.org
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