Wolfe Street Journal Winter 2014-2015

www.wolfestreet.org

olfe Street Journal W

Founded in 1982, the Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc. is fully funded

through private contributions. Patronage is vital to our mission of love

and service. Several levels of giving are available. Please help us

continue to provide a meeting place, education and prevention

programs and fellowship center for Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon

Family Groups. Take a minute to join us. We need you. See page 2 to

become a Patron of the Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc. or visit our

website.

Still carrying the message... Winter 2014-2015

http://www.wolfestreet.org

Winter 2014-2015 Wolfe Street Journal 1

Experience, Strength, and Hope Sink or Swim?

I was 3 years old. I remember falling in a pond, sinking into the dark waters, and seeing the sunlight fade the further down I went. A hand appeared to pull me out. I never thought that my first memory as a child would turn out to be a sick metaphor for my life. I was born here in Little Rock. I was always on the honor roll, in the gifted and talented programs, and always first to audition for the school play. I started drinking heavily at age 11. Alcohol helped me to suppress all of the bad things that happened to me, and I thought it helped me to cope better with life.

At age 19 I began picking up some very bad habits. Slowly, but surely I started to sink into a very unhealthy lifestyle. I always told myself “I would never do that”, and eventually everything I told myself I would never do, I did. I never wanted to consider that I had a problem. I always blamed someone else for the way I was behaving, and the things I was doing. It was never my fault. I loved playing the victim.

My life quickly became unmanageable. I had numerous run-ins with the law, lost countless jobs, and started betraying the people I loved the most in this world. One day I decided that I didn’t want my story to end like that. I knew that I could continue on doing what I had been doing, or I could try something different.

For 15 years I had been drowning in the mess that was my life. My actions, decisions, and behaviors caused me to lose everything. Just when I thought it was over the hand of AA reached out to me, and pulled me to safety. When I entered these rooms I only wanted to get sober, and I wanted all of the bad things in my life to go away. I never realized that I would receive so much more than that. I became grateful for all of the terrible things that had happened to me. Those events put me in the position to hit a sufficient enough bottom to become willing to change.

I gained a whole new outlook on life, I learned a new way of living, and now I look at the world through a different set of eyes. By working the 12 steps, getting a sponsor, and taking some action to clean up the wreckage of my past I no longer feel like I’m drowning. Alcoholics Anonymous saved my life, and has allowed me to have a life worth living. Joey A. Last Chance

__________________________________________________________

Feelings are like our children...we don’t let them drive

the car but we also don’t put them in the trunk.


Wolfe Street Center Patron

Name_______________________

Address_____________________

City, State___________________

Email:

Check category and payment

method.

Corporate or Personal

Sponsorship

_____ $2000 or more annually

Benefactor Patron

_____ $1000 annually

_____ $83.33 per month

Patron

_____ $750 annually

_____ $62.50 per month

Supporting Patron

_____ $500 annually

_____ $41.67 per month

Voting Patron

_____ $240 annually

_____ $20.00 per month

Participating Patron

_____ $60 annually

_____ $5 per month

Friends of Wolfe Street

_____ Amount is optional

In Memoriam William Brady

Sue Downs

Chad Lilly

Sharon Mullins

Clay Martin Wimberly

“There I humbly offered myself to God, as I then I understood Him, to do with me as He would.”

-Big Book, pg. 13


Cunning, Baffling and Powerful

My intended was in a treatment center in Searcy. I visited him there several times

and I was sure since he had gone to treatment that he was serious about his recovery.

I showed up there wearing a pretty dress and asked him if he wanted to get married.

He went and changed his shirt and came back. We left in my car and found the

Justice of the Peace in Searcy and got married. I took him back to the treatment

center and then went home. At one point on the way home I thought I was lost but

finally saw some familiar landmarks. All the same we were married. I didn’t really

apply my program because I expected him to be cured for which there is no such

thing with alcoholism. He was a binge drinker so every ten months or so he would

binge. Finally, I had had enough and told him when he was sober and I was not upset

that if he drank again I was thru. Of course he did and I kept my word and divorced

him. The lesson I learned from this was that alcoholism is cunning, baffling, and

powerful and I am no match for it.— Anonymous Member AFG

The Al-anon Family Groups are a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength, and hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery.

Al-Anon has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve Steps, by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics, and by giving understanding and encouragement to the alcoholic.

I found the right Alateen meeting for me

I’ve been going to Alateen for approximately a year and I can’t believe how much it’s

changed my life. Before Alateen, when my parents were divorcing, I didn’t know what

to do. I cried Almost every day, and I always thought crying was a sign of submission

and defeat.

Deep down, I did feel defeated. Nobody at my school talked about their feelings, and

I felt like my parents were too busy fighting. Then one day, my mom took me to my

first Alateen meeting. I hated it at first. Then I sort of opened up, but everyone was too

busy to each other about everything but the meeting.

I went to a different Alateen meeting instead. I love it there! I can say anything I

want because everything is so secure. The other kids respect my opinions and the

Sponsors are some of the most trustworthy people I’ve met. Things are still pretty

rough, but at least I know I can turn to the safety of Alateen anytime. Anonymous.


Donations have been made for the Serenity Garden by

Holly V. and Adrienne T. and a gift in memory of

Jake Agar

Serenity Garden

Plants Donation

7 Gallon or larger Magnolia – “Teddy Bear” $300

6’-8’ Dogwood – “Cloud Nine” $300

3 - 3 Gallon Hydrangea – “Little Lime” @$30/$90

3 - 3 Gallon Feather Reed Grass @$30/$90

25 flats Annual Color on all Border Edges @$9/$225

3 - 1 Gallon Amsonia –“Blue Star” @$9/$27

7 Gallon Magnolia – “Jane” $300

3 – 3 Gallon Gardenia – “Kleims Hardy” @35/$105

2 – 8’-10’ Holly – “Nellie Stevens” $300/$600

3 – 3 Gallon Roses – “Knock-Out” @$35/$105

3 – 3 Gallon Dwarf Spirea – “Lime Mound” @30/$90

2 – 3 Gallon Carolina Jasmine @$30/$90

2- 3 Gallon Climbing Rose “Lady Banksia” on Arbor @60/$120

7 Gallon or Larger Red Bud “Forest Pansy” $300

3 – 3 Gallon Holly “Sky Pencil” @35/$105

2 – 1 Gallon Ornamental Grass “Pink Muhly” @$25/$75

Herbs, Perennials, and Blubs 40@$10/$400

3 – 3 Gallon Loropetalum “Purple Pixie” @$30/$90

3 – 3 Gallon Hydrangea “Oak Leaf” @50/$150

3 – 3 Gallon Camelia Sasanqua “Yule Tide” or a Variety @75/$225

3 – 3 Gallon Camelia Japonica “Kramers” @90/$270

Hardscape

+14 – 8’ Sections of Existing Fencing. Clean Up and Paint Black $5,000

+60’ of New Steel Edging Black or Angles Brick $500

+Install 22 cubic yards of Topsoil/Compost Mix in Bedding Areas $450

Install 8 Cubic Yards of Shredded Harwood Mulch $300

Extras

Metal Arbor, Round Concrete Tables, Yard Art, Stand-Alone Swing, Picnic Tables, and Benches

$4,800

Total $15,197

Donate in honor of a friend or loved one to the Wolfe Street Foundation

Serenity Garden The Wolfe Street Foundation is building a Serenity Garden!

With your help, we can build a place for quiet reflection and prayer. Located on the southwest corner of the building, a beautiful landscape will be planted and benches and tables will be provided.

Purchase a plant in a loved one’s name or provide your time to help landscape the garden. All donations are 100 percent tax deductible. See us in the bookstore or go to www.wolfestreet.com and fill out a donation form.


10 am - 4 pm Wolfe Street Center

Holiday Open House

Please know you are welcome!

Bring snacks. Utensils and drinks

(non alcoholic of course) provided.

Please bring food. Help setup,

tend tables, and clean up.

5 . . 4 . . 3 . . 2 . . 1 ! New Year’s Eve Fellowship

Meetings and celebration at the Wolfe Street Center 6:45am OD Noon Speaker & Lunch 5:30pm CD 7:30pm Big Book Study 8pm Potluck hosted by The Pig Pen Young People 9pm OD 10:30 pm OD Midnight OD

Movies ׀ Football ׀Games and Food

Christmas & New Year’s Day

Meetings 6:45am ׀ Noon 5:30 ׀pm 7 ׀pm

Please bring snacks and desserts


VIRTUAL ATTENDEE Prefer to watch the Academy Awards from the comfort of your couch?

You can still support Wolfe Street by being a Virtual Attendee.

Lights, Camera, Action - Little Rock !

Academy Awards Watch Party

February 22, 2015 6pm Chenal Country Club Tickets $150 each

The Wolfe Street Foundation saves

lives; offering a solution to families

suffering from the effects of

alcoholism. What better way to serve

Arkansans touched by this deadly

disease than to support this annual

gala.

All proceeds benefit

The Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc.

Join us from home for

Hollywood’s Biggest Night!

Predict the Winner and

post on Twitter and

Instagram your “Best

Dressed” Photos

Tickets—$50 @redcarpetLR Red Carpet LR

wolfestreet.org 501.372.5662


Prayer and meditation are essential to recovery in the 12 Step Program.

The importance of having a spiritual practice cannot be over estimated.

To facilitate the development of both individual and community spiritual practice, The Wolfe Street Foundation is establishing an ongoing weekly meditation.

Spiritual practices are by their very nature intimate, personal and unique. To honor this work and its’ deep meaning, the meditation will be an open format. The leader, a trusted servant, will provide: a relevant prompt, select a reading, set a time for beginning and ending the meditation and provide guidance for the discussion. The meditation will be silent. A collection basket for “Conscious Sharing” will be at the door.

Meditation EVERY SUNDAY 9:00-9:50 AM

UPSTAIRS IN THE ELEVENTH STEP ROOM

“The willingness to grow is the essence of all spiritual development.” ̶”As Bill Sees It” pg. 17

Sought through Prayer and Meditation

Sunday, April 19, 2015 2 to 4:30pm Marian McD from California will be back

for another of her workshops. This one

will be “Sought through Prayer and

Meditation.”

The speaker-discussion workshop will

have two sessions, the first hour; “How to

Pray the 12-Step Way’; followed by a

snack break (please bring snacks) to share

and the fellowship. The last hour topic

will focus on; “I Tried to Meditate but…”

Haven’t we all been there?

Upstairs at the Wolfe Street Center.



Board of Directors

President

Pete Hornibrook

Vice President

Thomas J. Kelly Jr., PhD

Treasurer

Anthony Michael

Secretary

Colin Jorgensen

Jo Blankenship

Mary Clare Brierley

Sarah Cearley, PhD

Tricia Chaffin

Kay Fisher

Larry Gaines

Betti Hamilton

Jennifer Jones

Donna Skulman Lloyd

Alfred Williams

Advisory Board

Rick Adkins

Nancy Kumpuris

Kathy Gwatney Hardison

Executive Director

Markey Ford

Note from the Board

How to name the Wolfe Street Foundation in your Will or Estate Plan

Federal Tax ID - 71-057-1011 We recommend consulting with your attorney or financial advisor

to amend your existing will or trust or establish a new one.

You may find this sample language helpful:

The Wolfe Street Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 organization, is to

receive the sum of [specific amount] (or [percentage] percent of the

rest, residue and remainder of my estate). This bequest is

unrestricted, and the board or other governing body may use and

expend the bequest in any manner it deems appropriate.

You can also name the Wolfe Street Foundation as a full or partial

beneficiary to a life insurance policy or Retirement account. Please

contact us to learn about other planned giving options.

It has been my privilege to serve on the Board of Directors of the Wolfe Street Foundation, the past year as president. Many of us likely take for granted the fact that the Wolfe Street Center is open an average of 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year - providing a meeting place for support groups faithful to the original 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.

However, we probably give little consideration to the economic necessities of maintaining our wonderful facility. Recent studies have shown that donations have decreased while demand for services has generally increased. How can we all be of help? Our major sources of revenue are monthly and annual donations and fundraising activities. I strongly encourage everyone reading this journal to consider joining the foundation at any patron level that you can afford. (page 2).

What about when the time comes for us to join Bill, Bob, Geno, and Joe McQ at the big meeting in the sky? We all of course want to take care of our families first which is only natural. The Wolfe Street Board asks you to consider leaving the Wolfe Street Foundation a specific amount or a percentage of the residue of the remainder of your estate. See below for a way to keep it simple. We are very fortunate to be live in a community that appreciates and supports our mission. Let’s all do everything we can to assure the Wolfe Street Center continues to remain a vibrant presence for us, for our children and their children.

-Pete Hornibrook, President Wolfe Street Foundation Board of Directors


Al-Anon

Group Liaison Reps meet at 5:30 on the 2nd Thursdays

of February, April, June, August, October & December.

Sunday Breakfast 8:30-9:30 AM $5

SUNDAY 7:30AM OD Hour of Power

9:00AM Meditation

10:00AM 11th Step/OD- Hour of Power

5:30 PM OD Happy Hour

5:30 PM OD Pig Pen YPG

7:00 PM New Beginnings /O-120 ½

MONDAY

6:45AM OD Hour of Power

NOON OD Brown Bag

1:00PM OD Little Rock Women

5:30PM CD Happy Hour

7:00PM OBBS Pig Pen YPG

8:00PM OSS Dunbar

TUESDAY


NOON OD Brown Bag


7:00PM CD 120 ½

WEDNESDAY Lunch Noon-1 $5


NOON OS Dunbar


7:30-9PM CBB Big Book Study

THURSDAY


NOON OD Brown Bag


8:00PM OS 120 ½

FRIDAY


NOON OD Brown Bag


8:00PM OD Y.E.S. Group

10:00PM OD Last Chance

SATURDAY


1:00PM CD Rebos

5:30PM OD Happy Hour

8:00PM OS Big Meeting

10:00PM OD Last Chance

Meetings @ Wolfe Street Center

AA

MONDAY Name of Group

5:30PM Happy Hour AFG

5:30PM Alateen

TUESDAY

9:30AM SS T-N-T AFG

THURSDAY

5:30PM Al-Anon Step Study

FRIDAY

5:30PM Happy Hour AFG

SATURDAY

8:00PM Dunbar AFG

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Documents

Wolfe Street Journal Winter 2014-2015