Category: Events
2013 LifeRing Annual Meeting Taking Shape
02 March 2013
Denver, CO. May 31 to June 2. Be there!
Plans are well underway for the 2013 LifeRing Annual Meeting in Denver. Every year, LifeRing hosts a get-together to which all of our members are invited. It’s a social event, a learning experience, and a political gathering all at once.
Planning continues, but so far we know that the main speaker will be Gabor Mate, author of the bestselling In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction. Click HERE for details.
The whole weekend promises to be memorable. Great programs; warm companionship; maybe even a trip to the baseball stadium to see a game! Click HERE for more details, and check back — we’ll be adding more information as it becomes available.
LifeRing comes to Paris!
23 November 2012
Kathleen Gargan, former LifeRing Executive Director and current board member, is on an extended visit to Paris, France, and will be hosting a weekly information table/informal LifeRing meeting in a Starbucks in that city starting Sunday, Nov. 25, at 10:30 a.m. and continuing through the end of December. She writes:
“I’m ready set up a temporary meeting in paris – I’ve found a Starbucks that has several little privacy corners, and have visited it at the time I would like to hold the meeting. (10:30 am Sunday) it’s fairly empty at this time. I plan to sit there for an hour on Sunday mornings with a placard that says both LifeRing and Cercle de vie.”
Here are the details, in English and in French:
Starbucks Coffee
62 rue St Andre des Arts
6th arrondissement
Metro St Michel line 4
10:30 am Sundays
2nd floor – look for the the LifeRing/Cercle de Vie sign on the table.
In French:
Starbucks Coffee
62 rue St Andre des Arts
6 eme arrondissement
Metro St. Michel, ligne 4
10:30h les dimanches
Premiere etage; cherchez l’affliche qui dit “LifeRing/Cercle de Vie”
Kathleen is bi-lingual, so all are invited! For more information, email to liferingoutreach@gmail.com liferingoutreach@gmail.com
LifeRing Exhibits at Annual CAADAC Conference
10 October 2012
The California Association of Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Counselors held their annual get-together this past weekend and LifeRing was there. Joe Mott, a LifeRing board member, and Cat H., an active member, manned a table in the exhibitor’s area for the largest annual gathering of California treatment professionals. Joe and Cat reported that they receive very warm responses from many in attendance, including requests that LifeRing meetings be started at or near various treatment facilities. It was a strong affirmation of the increasing demand for exactly what LifeRing offers: a secular approach to recovery that respects the intelligence and motivation of each member. Cat reported that “Overall people were very happy to see us, and agree there needs to be alternatives to AA.”
A Superabundance of LifeRing Events Coming Up!
24 September 2012
The next few weeks are very busy for LifeRing, with events occurring in several places almost at the same time. Here’s a rundown:
–On Sept. 3oth, LifeRing will be represented at the Recovery Happens event in Sonoma Country, north of San Francisco. The event happens that Sunday at Franklin Park, 2095 Franklin Ave. in the city of Santa Rosa. The event is a celebration of recovery and will be attended by members of a variety of groups. LifeRing will have a table to display brochures and books and to meet interested people. The outdoor event will run from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. It will include a softball tournament, activities for kids and a BBQ lunch.
–The annual CAADAC conference (California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors) will be held Oct. 4-7 in San Diego. LifeRing has consistently tried to have a table at that event which, of course, attracts many of the people who serve clients with an interest in having a choice in their recovery support. This year is no exception as two LifeRingers will journey to San Diego and attempt to bring our message to any and all there.
– On Oct. 4th, a new LifeRing meeting is launched in Santa Rosa, CA. It will continue to meet every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. in Classroom #2 of the Unitarian/Universalist Church at 547 Mendocino Ave. Santa Rosa, CA 95401. More information can be obtained from the meeting’s convenor, Byron K., at liferingsr@gmail.com or by phone at 925.922.3553.
– On Oct. 5th, a Friday, LifeRing’s founding leader, Martin Nicolaus, will attend a LifeRing meeting in Modesto, CA, at their regular “First Friday” gathering where each month speakers appear to bring their own stories of recovery to the audience and answer questions and participate in discussion. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at 500 N. Ninth St.in Modesto (described as “near MJC between Tully and Carver”). Nicolaus, who wrote all three of the books used by LifeRing, will be celebrating 20 years of sobriety in October.
LifeRing Exhibits at Tucson Conference
27 August 2012
Two long-time LifeRing volunteers carried our message to the Southwestern School for Behavioral Health Studies Conference in Tucson, AZ. The event ran from Aug. 20-23. Tim Reith (pictured), a LifeRing board member and meeting convenor in Tucson headed the effort, helped by former LifeRing board member Chet Gardner. Tim reports:
I think things went pretty well. … There seemed to be some interest in secular alternatives. Many people stopped by and commented that so many clients/patients are requesting CHOICE. Many people at least took brochures and some other free hand-outs that we had.
I had a very interesting discussion with a Native American who started out in AA and now has a group of his own that is sort of like AA but not quite. He talked about the two wolves that reside in each of us: The white wolf and the black wolf. Now does that sound familiar? :-) I wound up donating two books to him for his tribal group in the San Diego area. I have his email and website and I plan to keep in touch with him. We must have talked for nearly an hour. I think the Native American population is a promising one for LifeRing. They have a “spiritual” concept, but it is more like the spirit that resides in each of them. I think we could work with that.
State Senator Linda J. Lopez stopped by and was quite enthusiastic. She suggested that we contact the Marana Correctional Facility (NW of Tucson) and that there could be some interest there. I will follow up with her by email.
I also spoke at some length to a representative from Palo Verde Hospital. … Palo Verde was one of many facilities that we sent material to, but alas, with no response. I mentioned that but she said it probably went to the wrong person. Anyway, she was interested enough to extend me an invitation to come by and pitch LifeRing to their staff. I have the contact person and will follow up.