The General Service Conference approved literature organized into piles at the back of the room is for the various Valleywide H&I Coordinators to distribute to the various hospitals, treatment centers, jails, and prisons throughout the Valley to the confined Alcoholics. If you chair an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a hospital or institution where the attendees cannot get out to a regular meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous you will coordinate with your respective coordinator to get books inside.
Used and new Grapevine issues can be donated by homegroups and will go to confined alcoholics.
I make literature orders every 2 months and distribute up to 1/2 of the literature available over 2 months in an attempt to ensure literature will be available for distribution to the Valleywide H&I Coordinators each month. For March and April we spent $13976.40 purchasing books from the General Service Office in New York (GSO). The breakdown of money spent was in the last two month’s Literature reports. After distribution to coordinators for the 2 months we have this left over in stock;
11 cases of Big Books, 1 case of 12X12, 5 cases of Pocket Big Books, 17 cases of Spanish Big Books, 10 cases of Spanish 12X12.
This month we got 133 cases of books. 39 cases of Big Books, 19 cases of 12X12s, 60 cases of AA in Prison, 10 cases of As Bill Sees It and, 5 cases of Daily Reflections:
39 cases = 780 Big Books $6.23 each = 4859.40
19 cases = 380 12X12 $5.74 each = 2181.20
60 cases = 1200 AA in Prison $3.28 each = 2220.00
10 cases = 200 As Bill Sees It $6.23 each = 1246.00
5 cases = 200 Daily Reflections $6.77 each = 1354.00
Total spent on literature from GSO = $11860.60
For the next 2 months we spent 800 on meeting lists from SRI.
Last month the coordinators helped by signing for the books they picked up. Basically, they signed a receipt. We will continue this form of accountability. Last month the Valleywide H&I Steering Committee has requested an additional form to be maintained through the cooperation of the various coordinators in order to track exactly where the literature is going. The new literature tracking form was sent home with them to fill out during the month and turn at the next meeting. Additionally, they were provided with an electronic copy. We are interested in being able to account for where the books are going. After they are turned in for this past month I will attempt to compile the information into some useful form.
In this literature order I bought some books that had been being requested by the coordinators over the last few months. I may consider the possibility, in the future, in getting some large print Big Books for the confined alcoholic who does not have accessibility to corrective eyewear in the hospital or institution they are being housed. There is $1.31 decrease in price from the Big Books we are currently providing. If your homegroup has any input on this please let me know.
Aaron B, Valleywide H&I, PO Box 80126, Phoenix, AZ 85060-0126