I arrived on Steppers in January 2018 when a home goup member, Homer M, mentioned the OIAA 12 Step Committee (Steppers) during announcements in our regular, daily meeting. Afterward, I told Homer I would give it a try. He sent my email address to Ann S., Steppers Orientation Facilitator at the time. She conducted my training. After I completed orientation, I jumped into what would prove to be the most valuable AA service work I have ever done. I was hooked!
In 2020, covid struck the entire world, including AA worldwide. Steppers suddenly began receiving 50 to 60 urgent requests for help per day instead of the 5 to 7 we were used to getting. We were “drinking from a firehose” for the next 18 months. Nevertheless, we met those urgent requests with at least 2 replies each, supplying links for local AA resources, AA literature, words of encouragement, and suggestions for finding meetings, sponsors, and everything else a newcomer needs for immediate help.
Today, we receive 10 to 15 urgent requests each day. We still reply as soon as possible, providing even more resources than we had available in 2018. We usually don’t know whether a person sending an urgent request gets sober, or not. But, that isn’t the point. Our task is to offer the hand of AA fellowship to every single person who reaches out for it. When I click “send,” the joy arrives in my heart, immediately, just as I hope my reply arrives in the requester’s inbox. ❤️
