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Get Involved Through Service
In ABA, service is one of the ways we carry recovery forward. It keeps meetings supported, helps the Fellowship stay connected worldwide, and makes sure newcomers can find help when they need it.
Service does not require special skills or a perfect schedule. It starts with willingness, grows with consistency, and always comes back to our primary purpose.
We need your Help!
There are a number of service positions available including:
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Secretary
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Public Information Committee Members
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Personnel Committee Chair
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Website Committee Chair
Please contact the office if you would like more information about the roles.
What service means in a 12-Step Fellowship
Twelve-Step Fellowships do not operate like most organizations. Our structure is often described as an “inverted pyramid”, where the Fellowship comes first.
That means ABA groups and members are the guiding force. Service bodies exist to support the Fellowship, not to direct it.
Service is how we protect unity, practice the Traditions, and keep the door open for the still-suffering anorexic and bulimic.
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Committees
Committees help ABA function day to day. They support outreach, communications, literature, operations, and other practical needs that keep the Fellowship connected worldwide.
All committees welcome members who are willing to show up, participate respectfully, and help carry out the committee’s purpose.
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Public Information Committee
Chair: Kathryn
Purpose: To share clear information about ABA, its purpose, and its value with the public, business, and professional communities, while supporting the growth of the Fellowship by carrying the message of recovery to those who may be suffering from eating disorders.
Sobriety requirement: At the discretion of the committee.
Note: This committee needs members.
Chair contact information:
Self Support Committee
Chair: Jessa
Purpose: To ensure the present and future viability of ABA by developing and carrying out various fund-raising activities and events.
Sobriety requirement: None
Contact the Chair for meeting details: jessaatheart@gmail.com
GSO and Personnel Committee
Chair: Brian
Purpose: To respond to the direction of the Board in all matters pertaining to the operation of the General Service Office (GSO) and the employment of special workers required by the General Service Association.
Sobriety requirement: 1 year for membership; 2 years for Chair
Chair contact information:
Literature and Outreach Committee
Chair: Lou
Purpose: To develop and produce ABA literature in print and audio formats, respond to questions from members and the public, and keep the Fellowship informed about new and updated materials. The Committee also reports to the GSA on literature matters and coordinates communication related to international translations, printing, and distribution.
Sobriety requirement: 2 years continuous sobriety
Contact the Chair for meeting details: louwhitlock73@gmail.com
Website Committee
Chair: Ashley
Purpose: To maintain and update the ABA website so it provides a clear, accessible, and supportive online experience. The Committee works to ensure the site effectively carries the ABA message through strong visibility, thoughtful content, and ease of use for both newcomers and members.
Sobriety requirement: Not specified
Contact the Chair for meeting details:
Retreat & Conference Committee
Chair: Abbey
Purpose: To plan, coordinate, and evaluate ABA’s international Retreats and Conferences. It ensures each event is responsibly budgeted, well organized, and designed to strengthen connection, support the Fellowship, and foster the continued growth of ABA.
Sobriety requirement: Not specified
Contact the Chair for meeting details:
GSR Committee
Chair: Phoenix
Purpose: To serve as ABA’s unified world-level group conscience, guiding matters related to its primary purpose, supporting communication between Groups and the GSA, encouraging financial self-support, and upholding the Twelve Traditions.
Sobriety requirement: 6 months
Contact the Chair for meeting details:
Board of Directors
The General Service Association of ABA is a legally incorporated, non-profit Board of Directors (Alberta, 2003) that exists to serve the worldwide Fellowship of Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous.
The GSA is a service board, not a governing body. Its role is to protect the unity of ABA by encouraging adherence to the Twelve Traditions and by handling policy and financial matters that may impact ABA as a whole. The Board’s decisions are guided by the collective group conscience of ABA.
If you would like to offer 2 hours of your time at least per month to serve on the board, please reach out to the office or board members so that you can be nominated for service.
What Board service looks like:
Minimum commitment: One monthly meeting (approximately 2 hours)
Meeting format: Zoom
Current schedule: Typically the 3rd Sunday of each month (may shift for holidays or summer scheduling)
Eligibility:
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Directors must be 18 years of age or older
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ABA members must have at least 1 year of continuous sobriety in eating practices
How selection works:
Directors can be voted onto the Board by sitting Board members and can begin serving at any time of year. ABA members will officially elect the new Board members at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), held each year in March.
Documents:
General Service Representatives (GSR)
General Service Representatives (GSRs) are elected by ABA groups worldwide and form a freestanding interservice body. GSRs provide two-way communication between their group and the General Service Association, bringing forward questions and concerns and sharing important information back with their group.
These trusted servants are vital to the organization, especially the Fellowship. 12 Step organizations don’t have the same business structure that the rest of the world does. We are ‘upside down’ in terms of structure as compared to most organizations. What does this mean?
This means that you, the Fellowship, are at the top, not the Board. You are the guiding force of the organization. The GSR of your group is the Fellowship’s voice that brings questions and concerns to the GSR committee who, in turn, informs the Board. Without GSRs, the Board would be out of touch with what the Fellowship feels is important. It is crucial that groups have GSRs in order to speak to what they want in terms of ABA.
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What it involves:
Suggested sobriety requirement:
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6 months to be a GSR
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6 months suggested for an Alternate GSR
Meeting time:
The GSR Committee meets every even month (currently listed as the first Saturday of that month at 2:30 pm Eastern).
How GSRs serve:
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Act as the group’s contact person for service communications
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Attend meetings (or send an Alternate when needed)
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Bring items from their group to the committee
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Share relevant updates back to their group
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Help their group stay connected to the Traditions and the wider Fellowship
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Support self-support at both local and world-service levels
The Board would like to encourage you, as a Fellowship, to ensure that each of your groups has a GSR, to make sure that your voice is heard and represented. As mentioned above, GSRs are indispensable and we don’t want you to be without this valuable resource. If your group does not have one, please consider stepping forward to serve in this manner.
Documents:
The 12-Step List
The 12-Step List is a list of volunteers who are willing to be contacted by newcomers or members who are struggling and need extra support. Volunteers have experienced an eating disorder and have found recovery through ABA.
We aim to have volunteers across the globe so we can connect people with someone in their general area when possible.
If you are willing to be added to the list, please contact the office with your name, phone number, and email address, and mention that you would like to serve on the 12-Step List.
Not sure where to start?
If you are unsure which option fits, reach out. We can help you find a service role that matches your capacity and current season of recovery. Learn more here:
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Walk Beside Someone in Recovery
One of the most meaningful ways we support one another in ABA is through sponsorship. Sponsorship is one member sharing their experience, strength, and hope with another who is walking the same path. A sponsor is essential to guide us through the 12 Steps and is often available to assist us in maintaining sobriety.
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How to Become a Sponsor
Sponsorship is a great and very fulfilling way to give back of all we have been given.
Being a sponsor furthers our own recovery in unexpected ways and we learn how to sponsor others by doing it.
To be a sponsor, you should be sober in your eating practices, have your own sponsor and have spoken to them about being a sponsor. You should also be working an ABA program so you can pass on your personal experiences of ABA recovery.
A sponsor is simply a vehicle for a Higher Power to work through. Only the Higher Power can heal and restore us to sanity, so as a sponsor, you can relax, pray, and do your best, trusting God to do the real work in the sponsee.
The last page of the ABA newsletter provides a list of available sponsors. If you are interested in being a sponsor, email to have your name included in the newsletter: jessaatheart@gmail.com