Alcoholism Resources

AA Sponsors from an Outsider’s Perspective

I have never had a sponsor. I have never been a sponsor. But, I have known a few and the good work that they do.

I dear friend of mine has been a sponsor for several people over the past two decades. Some of these people he has guided through years of struggling sobriety. Some others, he has lost along the way. Asked about it, he says that they were all worth it, no matter how demanding or irritating or angry they had become. Sponsorship is not an easy cross to bear.

As Bill W. says, “Every sponsor is necessarily a leader. The stakes are huge. A human life, and usually the happiness of a whole family, hangs in the balance.” What other volunteer experience puts a person in such an important role? Where else can you make such a difference in the life of not one, but many people, over the course of a lifetime?

In addition to being a sponsor to several people, my friend volunteers at a prison once a week, leading AA meetings behind bars. He helps offenders once they get out of jail, and gets them to meetings, too. Once you feel comfortable in your own sobriety, and if you are an avid AA follower, sponsorship is a wonderful way to repay the organization that helped you.

Again, since I am not hardcore AA, my knowledge of sponsorship is only based on my friends’ experiences and what I have read in books and online. I have seen sponsorship work wonders for both the sponsor and the one he or she is helping. The sponsor learns valuable leadership skills, confirms his or her sobriety, and is responsible to another. Both the sponsor and the sponsored work together to keep each other sober.