​

Sponsorship

​

"No longer is there a sense of hopelessness; no longer must we each depend on our own unsteady willpower."

​

Sponsors are OA members who are living the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to the best of their ability. They are willing to share their recovery with other members of the Fellowship and are committed to abstinence.

 

We ask a sponsor to help us through our program of recovery on all three levels: physical, emotional and spiritual. By working with other members of OA and sharing their experience, strength and hope, sponsors continually renew and reaffirm their own recovery. Sponsors share their program up to the level of their own experience.

 

Ours is a program of attraction: find a sponsor who has what you want, and ask that person how he or she is achieving it. A member may work with more than one sponsor and may change sponsors at will.

 

When am I ready to sponsor?
Sponsoring can begin at any time.  Simply sponsor up to the level of your experience, sharing as much recovery as you have.  It may be helpful to discuss sponsoring with your own sponsor first, then begin sponsoring when you both feel it's right.  Ask your group to introduce you as a new sponsor, or identify yourself as one. We have found that sponsors are most effective when refraining from compulsive eating. Many of us believe clarity of mind comes with abstinence. Having a sponsor is the best way to learn to be a sponsor; we learn by example. We also learn to sponsor by doing it.   (This is from OA World Service.) 
 
Sponsor Suggestions- Ways To Sponsor:

• Temporary Sponsor: Offer to take on a new sponsoree until they find a sponsor. Give a suggested time period such as two weeks to give them support until they find a sponsor, or another temporary sponsor.
   

• Vacation Sponsor: Be a sponsor while another sponsor is on vacation. It gives you a chance to offer support to someone, reach out and do service, give away what you have, but not make a full time commitment if you are unable to at that time.
   

• Newcomer Sponsor: Sponsor newcomers - they often leave meetings confused and need guidance.  Newcomers have so many questions, and even a temporary sponsor for a short time is better than no sponsor at all.
   

• Online Sponsor: Offer to sponsor online.  It can help keep you and a sponsoree connected, and you are both using the tool of writing.  It is done at a convenient time and makes it possible for those to sponsor who are not able to by telephone.

 
"Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and each other is the bright spot of our lives."

- "Working With Others", Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, Chapter 7, page 89.