Cooperation with the Professional Community Committee focuses on:
- Establishing better communication with professionals working with alcoholics
- Finding simple, effective ways of cooperating without affiliating
- Explaining clearly what A.A. does and doesn’t do
What AA Does:
- A.A. members share their experience with anyone seeking help with a drinking problem.
- A.A. members offer person-to-person “sponsorship” to the alcoholics coming to A.A.
- Offers the alcoholic a design for living that works.
What AA Does Not Do:
- A.A. does not: Furnish initial motivation for alcoholics to recover
- Solicit membership
- Engage in or sponsor research
- Keep attendance records or case histories
- Join “councils” or social agencies (although A.A. members, groups and service offices frequently cooperate with them)
- Follow up or try to control its members
- Make medical or psychological diagnoses or prognoses
- Provide detox, rehabilitation or nursing services, hospitalization, drugs or any medical or psychiatric treatment
- Offer religious services, or host/sponsor retreats
- Engage in education about alcohol
- Provide housing, food, clothing, jobs, money or any other welfare or social services
- Provide domestic or vocational counseling
- Accept any money for its services, or any contributions from non-A.A. sources
- Provide letters of reference to parole boards, lawyers, court officials, social agencies, employers, etc
🤝What our committee can offer you:
Someone to attend with
We can provide a member of AA to bring a professional to an open meeting.
Community Engagement
We can bring members of our community into your professionals for a visit.
Clarity on AA
We will share about what AA is and what AA is not.
Dedicated Q&A
We can answer AA related questions which you may have to help you serve the public more easily.
Sharing Our Journey
We can share our stories with the AA fellowship and our experience with the AA 12 steps.
멘터 AA Sponsorship Insight
We can offer you insight on Sponsorship and how it works.
Foundational Perspective
We can offer you a perspective with a strong foundation in compassion for the Alcoholic that still suffers.
The Never-Ending Hope
Our preamble states that some may be constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. We never give up hope. There’s a chair available whenever anyone wants one. Until then, we hold a chair open for them to visit AA.
Some of the professions we hope to be useful to:
⚕️ Healthcare Professionals
- Doctors and physicians
- Nurses
- Therapists and counselors
- Psychologists and psychiatrists
- Social workers
- Substance abuse and addiction counselors
- Hospital and clinic staff
- Employee assistance program (EAP) coordinators
⚖️ Legal and Corrections Professionals
- Judges and court officials
- Lawyers and public defenders
- Probation and parole officers
- Correctional facility staff and counselors
- DWI/DUI program staff
🎓 Educators
- School counselors and administrators
- College and university staff (especially in student health services)
🙏 Clergy and Spiritual Leaders
- Ministers, priests, rabbis, and other members of the clergy
- Pastoral counselors
🏢 Workplace and Human Resources
- Employers and supervisors
- Human resources professionals
- Personnel managers
🤝 Other Community Professionals
- Members of the armed services and military family support staff
- First responders
- Community center staff
- Social service agency workers
C.P.C. recorded presentation for professionals
The Area 31 C.P.C. committee developed a recorded presentation as a resource to reach professionals who work with alcoholics. This short, 10-minute recording provides an overview of the A.A. recovery program, how to access meetings, including virtual meetings, and other resources available specifically for professionals. We have made this presentation available on the Area 31 website so members of the Fellowship can access it and share it with professionals in their life as they deem appropriate.
The C.P.C. committee is available to speak with any professional individually or as a group who has questions or wants to learn more about Alcoholics Anonymous. We will also attend an open meeting (virtually or in person as permitted) with a professional to observe a meeting first-hand. We can be reached at [email protected].
AA's Official App: Meeting Guide
The AA Grapevine App
Contact the CPC Committee
What you as an AA member can do for CPC:
📅 CPC Meeting Information
Get involved with the Cooperation with the Professional Community (CPC) committee. CPC works to establish better communication between A.A. and professionals who work with alcoholics.
📍 In-Person Meeting (South Hadley, MA)
Location: 30 Carew Street in South Hadley, MA
Time: Second Tuesday of every month, 6:30 PM – 7:20 PM
💻 Online Meeting (Zoom)
Time: 6:30 PM – Second Tuesdays
Platform: Zoom
Meeting ID: 837 9476 2937
Passcode: 603447
👥 Who Can Attend & Requirements
- Open Attendance: Any A.A. member or curious Professional is welcome to attend.
- Service Position: If you sign up for a group representative service position, you are required to attend the monthly meetings.
📢 Calls to Action: Get Involved!
1. Distribute Information 📮
Help us spread the word about A.A. to professionals in the community.
- Target: Clergy, legal services, judges, treatment centers, doctors, and professional students.
- Action: Hand out info cards, mail them, or make phone calls. Report new leads to the CPC Committee.
2. Attend Presentations 🎤
Gain experience and support our outreach commitments.
Any A.A. member may attend a presentation commitment and either listen or ask to participate as a speaker.
3. Promote Minutes 📌
Keep your home groups informed of CPC activities.
Announce the CPC abbreviated minutes, and, if possible, pin them to your boards on a monthly basis.
4. Offer Rideshare Service 🚗
Support Professionals who want to attend an open A.A. meeting.
Volunteer to be a rideshare with your open A.A. meeting group. Talk to the CPC Liaison at the meeting to coordinate.
✨ What We Do: CPC Presentation Content
| Focus Area | Description |
|---|---|
| Education | Put on presentations and talk about what A.A. is and is not. |
| Our Program | Share our experience with the 12 Steps and talk about Sponsorship. |
| Meeting Types | Explain the difference between an open meeting and a closed meeting, and the different formats of **online meetings**. |
| Direct Help | Answer questions for professionals and students attending presentations. |
| Service | Help Professionals and Students who will work with Alcoholics, fulfilling our 12th Tradition and our Responsibility Pledge to be of service to the suffering alcoholic. |
CPC Six Month Report for Fall Assembly 2025
We meet at 6:30 pm on the second Tuesday of each month.
Attendance is averaging 5 people in person and 6 people virtually.
Individual and group representation has been down.
-In the past six months we have provided five presentations, two at Bay Path, one at AlC, Westfield State, and Springfield College, and I would like to thank Bruce for all of his continued hard work and contacts.
-We have had a hard time this year with presentations. Either no interest, no one was returning contacts from committee members, or they did not have any grant money to pay their professionals to attend the meeting.
In the last six months CPC has created and updated:
–A new presentation format, utilizing the aa.org website as an optional resource tool.
By doing this we can show Professionals and Students tools that are available to help alcoholics.
AA questionnaire, Various Pamphlets and Videos which may be helpful to both pros and alcoholics.
-Began updating the CPC area website with Tom to reflect what CPC offers the Professional.
-Updates to our monthly meeting agenda, and is now using the tradition and concept of the month.
–Created new CPC information boards for the MA. State Convention for November.
–Created an AdHoc committee for a new CPC liaison committee position.
Voted in Tania for CPC Liaison. She will stay on for next year and maintain a spreadsheet of past Professional Contacts and Ride Share meetings for Professionals and Students.
-We are still seeking AA’s to accompany students of professional fields dealing with alcoholics, to open AA meetings in the Holyoke, Hadley, Southwick, and Westfield areas. Please come to the CPC monthly meeting if interested in hosting a Professional or Student to your open AA group.
-CPC now is available for area open AA groups to invite Professionals and students to a meeting.
Contact our new Institutions liaison Tania for information at our CPC meeting.
-CPC Info Post Card: I would like to thank Brian W., from P.l. who helped with the design.
The info card lists how we offer AA Presentations to Professionals, emails of Area 31, Institutions, Public Information, BTG QR Code and the Meeting guide app. These are tools and points of contact for Professionals dealing with alcoholics.
–CPC CoChairs: we lost 2. Why? They were unaware of the amount of time that is necessary for the position. Attendance at Institutions first wed of the month. CPC/PI 2nd tues. Area on second Wed. Intergroup 2nd thursday. Invited district attendance and a small presentation. Spring assembly, fall assembly, NERASA, NERF, State Convention boards, Round up CPC Presentation (Thank you to Steve who was able to lead this presentation this year at the round up, weather related), as well as any Area Service Commitments, and to lead any needed presentations for the professional community when other CPC committee members are unavailable.
-This has been a learning experience and a sincere honor to act as your CPC Chair and last year’s Co-Chair for these past two years.
-CPC continues to deliver presentations and is always welcoming new leads. Come to the meeting.
Please contact CPC on our area 31 website via the CPC chair email.
-The CPC committee has suggested that the next committee should also update the Area 31 CPC video.
-The Co-Chair position remains vacant possibly.
-Lastly, CPC hopes next year’s committee will follow up on the work of updating the video content with the Area Webmaster, CPC Chair and CoChair being invited to more District meetings, have an opportunity to do a workshop to increase interest in our AA body, and then hopefully participation will increase.
Our primary purpose is to help the sick and suffering alcoholic, and to be there for them to grab hold of our experience, strength and hope that we have to offer.
That is our responsibility.
Giving back what has been so freely given to us, to those who suffer from alcoholism.
Again… It has been an honor to serve with our Area 31 Cooperation with the Professional Community Committee. Thank you.