[Businessmtg] Business meeting item #2 Excess over prudent reserve

[Beth1818 at aol.com]

Hi everyone!
 
Just something to consider when thinking about whether ASP should offer to  
mail newcomer packets to new members: 
 
If we offer packets and then ask for a land mail address to send them  to, 
aren't we then asking people to break their anonymity?  I'm imagining  myself as 
a newcomer to Al-Anon, finding ASP online, having an ASP member  invite me to 
receive a newcomer packet, and then having that person ask me  to give out my 
land mail information which would most likely have to  include my last name . 
 If that had happened when I was new to  program, I would leave the meeting 
and never come back because I'd be cautious  about giving out such personal 
identifying information to a stranger online and  especially wary of anyone 
representing themselves as a member of an  anonymous program.
 
While the intentions we have to be of service to the newcomer are honorable  
and good, I think we would be opening ourselves up to a packet of  problems.  
Instead, In our welcome letter, we can inform people about  the existence and 
helpfulness of the material in newcomer packets, suggest  they look for one at 
a local meeting, and then also offer a link for them  to purchase one on the 
WSO site.  This might also have a side benefit of  exposing them to literature 
they might not otherwise know about and want to  purchase, too.
 
Beth



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