I gently remind the volunteer of the 3Ps of Service Work. They are: 1) be Polite, 2) be Professional, 3) be Persistent. Outside agencies like treatment centers are often overwhelmed with all sorts of internal issues. Getting back to a service entity to coordinate speakers may seem like a simple task to us on the outside, but for the counselor who has hours of charting, groups, and individual therapy, making a phone call to coordinate speakers may seem like a “bridge too far.”
Thus, I remind the volunteer that it is the treatment center that is doing us the favor, not the other way around. The treatment center is allowing us to come in and practice our 12th Step and 5th Tradition. These service opportunities are vital to our recovery because they give us the chance to work with others. And as we know, giving it away is the best way to keep it. We are reminded of this paradox on page 89 of the book Alcoholics Anonymous where it tells us, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can.”
Thus, we are polite, professional and persistent. I recall one treatment center that asked for speakers on the day they opened. It took 2.5 years before we were able to send our first speaker into the agency. Many times the volunteer who had the responsibility of coordinating the speakers with this agency wanted to throw in the proverbial towel. Gratefully, they didn’t give in to this urge and instead focused on the 3P’s of Service Work, especially the persistent part. Now this agency has a speaker every month and their clients within the treatment center hear the lifesaving message of the 12 Steps on a regular basis.
