This website is intended for A.A. members, particularly those involved or interested in service work. Above us is the symbol for A A, a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A A, and the triangle stands for A A’s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. (Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Bill W.)
service
Our Twelfth Step – carrying the message – is the basic service that the AA Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence. Therefore, AA is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven’t been given the truth may die.
Hence, an AA service is anything whatever that helps us to reach a fellow sufferer – ranging all the way from the Twelfth Step itself to a ten-cent phone call and a cup of coffee, and to AA’s General Service Office for national and international action. The total of all these services is our Third Legacy of Service. (AA’S LEGACY OF SERVICE BY BILL W. (1951))
a declaration of unity
This we owe to AA’s future; to place our common welfare first; to keep our Fellowship united.
For on AA unity depend our lives, and the lives of those to come
i am responsible….
When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that: I am responsible
preamble
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. Reprinted with permission