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August is Gratitude Month

 

This year your General Service Conference has decided that Gratitude Month contributions will go towards the establishment of a National Archives for the Fellowship.

 Many of you may think the Fellowship already has Archives, so why put money towards this? The General Service Board recently appointed a sub-committee to assess the current state of our archives and what they found was that A.A. has in fact never really had a functioning archives process, nor have we adequately supported those we have appointed as our archivists.

It was decided that in order to preserve our rich history, A.A. needs proper archives, with proper processes and procedures as to how archive material would be collected, stored and made available to the Fellowship.

It was agreed that this is a project for someone with qualifications and experience in this area and that there would be a cost associated with this.

The importance of archives is best described in the following paragraphs from the Archives Guidelines, reprinted here with permission of the General Service Office, New York.

Like any other A.A. service, the primary purpose of those involved in archival work is to carry the message of Alcoholics Anonymous. Archives service work is more than mere custodial activity; it is the means by which we collect, preserve, and share the rich and meaningful heritage of our Fellowship. It is by the collection and sharing of these important historical elements that our collective gratitude for Alcoholics Anonymous is deepened.

 A.A. members have a responsibility to gather and care for the Fellowship’s historical documents and memorabilia. Correspondence, records, minutes, reports, photographs, newspaper and magazine articles from the past and the present should be collected, preserved, and made available for the guidance and research of A.A. members and others (researchers, historians, and scholars from various disciplines) — for now and for generations to come.

 We encourage you to contribute generously to this vital service, as we believe that not only are we the custodians of our history on behalf of those that have gone before us and our current membership but also for the alcoholic who is yet to pick up their first drink.

How to contribute

  •  Click here to donate directly online through the A.A. website
  • Via internet banking:

Account Name: New Zealand General Service Office. Number 06-0501-0236572-07

  • Organise a special collection within your group during the month of August

*NB: be sure to use the reference ‘Gratitude’ when making your donation.

We would like to leave you with another quote from the Archive Guidelines, reprinted with permission of the General Service Office, New York.

“Whenever a society or civilization perishes there is always one condition present; they forgot where they came from.” —Carl Sandburg.

 Ngā mihi nui

General Service Board Alcoholics Anonymous New Zealand

 

 

Gratitude month

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