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    Be of Service: Start a New Group
    Be of Service: Start a New Group
    Be of Service: Start a New Group
    Ebook87 pages1 hour

    Be of Service: Start a New Group

    By Robert Perrine

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    About this ebook

    Being of service is a life choice that comes with experience. A wonderful way to be of service is to start a new support group for people dealing with adversity. This book tells you step by step the work required to start a new group in a new location. The book also describes the tradeoffs to consider in the scope of the effort and the budget available in time and money. The concepts described can be applied to the startup of almost any type of community group including 12-step, religious or charitable organizations.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRobert Perrine
    Release dateJan 1, 2015
    ISBN9781311600660
    Be of Service: Start a New Group
    Author

    Robert Perrine

    Robert is a wayfarer on this journey through life. He was born in Pennsylvania and now resides in California. During his career he has been a civil engineer, computer programmer, professor and a project manager. Throughout this journey Robert has tried to fit all the pieces together into a holistic framework. His goal now is to describe an integrated model of psychology that he found by delving deeply into a study of project management.

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      Book preview

      Be of Service - Robert Perrine

      Be of Service

      By Robert Perrine

      Be of Service - Start a New Group

      By Robert Perrine

      Copyright

      The copyright is held by Robert E. Perrine, Bakersfield, California. You may not copy or distribute this document without advanced written permission from the document author. Contact Robert E. Perrine at http://www.robertperrine.com if you have questions about this copyright.

      Acknowledgements

      I owe thanks to the meetings that helped me find my way from self-defeating behaviors to the serenity I have today. I owe special thanks to my prior home group in Lakewood and my new home group in Bakersfield. But I also owe thanks to many friends in many meetings.

      Preface

      Thank you for taking a few minutes to examine this book. My goal is to tell you what I did when I started a twelve-step group in Bakersfield, California, USA. I will tell you my story twice, once by topic and once in time sequence. I offer this information only as an example, and not as guidelines.

      The part of this book called Topics to cover when starting a group tells you what I did, why I did it, and gives you pointers as to where to look for additional information. My goal is to provide layers of information: what, why and the theory of why.

      The final part of this book is called Chronology of my efforts. That section has a quick synopsis of what happened, day-by-day. The purpose for that section is to show how long it took. That part only describes what and when.

      You can see what I did by reading either or both parts of this book. Remember, however, that I am just saying what I did. You will need to find what works for you and leave the rest. For example, the city I am in has a population of about 350,000. They have little experience with the twelve-step program I follow; the nearest meeting locations for this program are all about 100 miles / 160 kilometers from here. I gradually compiled a mailing list of about 350 addresses to tell community leaders about our program. If more people already knew about this particular twelve-step program my list would have been smaller. As a rough guide, however, I think it helps to inform about 1 person out of every 1,000. So, if your town only has 50,000 people, you might notify 50. You also might prefer to send people rather than mailing letters. Or you might prefer to patiently wait for people to find you. All I can tell you is what worked for me. And I went with one mailing address for every 1,000 people when reaching out to a town with no prior knowledge about this program.

      Another ratio that I think is relevant is the cost. I spent about 3,500 US dollars starting this meeting. About one third of that money was spent on literature, one third on rent and supplies and about one third on mailing a lot of letters and posters. Altogether that is about one dollar for every 100 people in the town. So, if your town has 50,000 people, I would expect to spend about 500 dollars getting the group started. The key difference between what I describe in this book and what most groups do is that I tried to get it all done quickly. Most groups grow more slowly and spread the expenses over years. I was in a hurry. You might have more patience. Hurrying the process means I used more money rather than using more time. Find the balance that works for you.

      The tradeoffs you need to balance are your goals, your time and your money. I wanted to set up a fully functional meeting - which means I had a vision for a broad, all-encompassing scope of activities. I felt that I had only a limited amount of time to get this meeting started and turn it over to others. That concern about time, with a broad definition of goals means that I had to spend more money or more effort. But you may have more patience than me. Or you might be more willing to let the process evolve more slowly. If you can settle for less, or if you can wait longer, then you will have less pressure to spend money. Or, if you have a job that gives you more free time than I had, you can spend your effort rather than spending money. You will need to find the balance that works for you.

      I wish you the best in your efforts. I hope you find my story helpful. And, most importantly, thank you for allowing me to be of service.

      Table of Contents

      Copyright

      Acknowledgements

      Preface

      Topics to cover when starting a group

      Introduction, first things first

      My story, you can only keep what you have by giving it away

      Get connected because together we can do what we could never do alone

      Find a location - it’s a simple program for complicated people

      Talk with the neighbors, then take what you can and leave the rest

      You need stuff so you can live life on life’s terms

      Keep going, but remember that time takes time

      When all else fails, follow directions

      It works if you work it

      Let go or be dragged

      Just for today, enjoy the results

      Appendix

      Bibliography

      Meeting format for the Bakersfield

      Business Report for October 2013

      Business Report for December 2013

      Business Report for February 2014

      Chronology of my efforts

      Topics to cover when starting a group

      Introduction, first things first

      I find great comfort in the fellowship provided by support groups that understand my situation. Over the years I have been with many groups and attended many meetings. To keep the terminology straight: a meeting is a one-time gathering of people. A group is the people that host and participate in a series of meetings. And a program is the direction or plan the individuals follow in order to

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