What Is a Sponsor?
The Heart t’ Heart pamphlet, “The Nine Tools of Heart t’ Heart,” says this about sponsoring:
When a person goes to a foreign country, they will often be met by a sponsor—someone who knows the customs and practices of the country and will assist the new person in getting oriented. Sponsoring in Heart t’ Heart works the same way. A sponsor is someone who is living the twelve steps to the best of his or her ability. Sponsors generally have more experience in the program and have maintained some level of recovery.
It is recommended that we ask someone to be our sponsor soon after coming into the program. We listen to the sharing and to the Spirit and then choose someone with whom we feel we share a common bond. Or we take down the name and phone number of someone who has checked the sponsor column on the “We Care” list. Sponsoring may develop into a long term friendship or it may be temporary. It is perfectly acceptable to have more than one sponsor at the same time so that we can be sure of reaching someone when we are in need.
Heart t’ Heart’s Long-Distance Sponsoring Program
We frequently get requests from people who are looking for a sponsor. These requests come mostly from people who live too far from an existing Heart t’ Heart meeting or have not been able to find a sponsor in their local meeting. To help these people find a sponsor, we have initiated a “Long-Distance Sponsoring Program.”
The goal of this program is to help people who live at some distance from each other get together in sponsoring relationships. People may want to correspond by e-mail, by phone, or by letter.
Note: We follow the tradition established in other 12 Step organizations of having only men sponsor men and only women sponsor women.
Do You Need a Long-Distance Sponsor?
We have a few people who have volunteered to be long-distance sponsors. We do not post the names of these sponsors on the website. If you need a long-distance sponsor, send us an email and we will put you in touch with potential sponsors.
We need your first name and a last initial, and your gender to connect you with the appropriate sponsor list.
If you cannot receive a reply by e-mail, write to Long-Distance Sponsor Program, 240 S. Center St., Hyrum UT 84319.
Are You Willing To Be a Long-Distance Sponsor?
If you are in a position to sponsor someone (have worked through several of the Steps and have at least a few months of abstinence) and are willing to sponsor, please print out the Long-Distance Sponsor form, fill it out and send it in. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD