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Dare to Dream, Dare to Do
Cathy Harmon
Flower Mound TX USA
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 41 No. 1, February-March 2005, p. 6.
"I have a dream..."
These well-known words from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous
and stirring speech have always inspired me. What are your La Leche
League dreams? Have you considered sharing them?
I encourage you to gather
with your co-Leaders and share your hopes and dreams for your local
Group as well as those for yourself as a Leader. This activity is particularly
effective for Groups with three or more Leaders, or for Leaders in a
Chapter. You may also want to include Leader Applicants, remembering
that an Applicant cannot act in the name of LLL.
Choose a comfortable time
and place for everyone, including babies and children, to meet. Serve
light refreshments. Have a stack of note cards and a pen or pencil for
everyone. A place to post the dreams, such as a small bulletin board
or poster board, will also be helpful.
Begin by asking each Leader
to write down one or two short-term goals she has for the Group (or
Chapter). A short-term goal might be achieved within a year. List only
one goal per card. Examples of short term goals include to collect a
membership at the next meeting; to improve publicity for Series Meetings;
or to gather regularly for Enrichment Meetings. On a different card,
suggest that Leaders write down a hope—something they may have
said in the past with a sigh: "Gee, I wish we could...."
Then, ask each Leader to
list her dreams for La Leche League. These dreams may relate to LLL
locally, personally, or even internationally. Perhaps her dreams might
include submitting an article for the Area Leaders’ Letter; doing
outreach at the local high school; and traveling to the next LLLI Conference.
Encourage her to put her dreams on a note card, no matter how huge or
impossible they may seem. As during brainstorming sessions, all ideas
are valid.
Collect all the cards and
post them on the left-hand side of a bulletin board. It is exciting
to see that you and your co-Leaders may secretly share some of the exact
same goals! And how thrilling to find a new idea or direction for your
LLL Group or Chapter!
Then, ask if working on any
of the posted goals or dreams is appealing to anyone. Individuals or
pairs can accept the responsibility. Big dreams most certainly can be
subdivided into "mother-sized" pieces. Write the interested
Leaders’ names on the appropriate card and move the card to the
right-hand side of the bulletin board.
It’s okay if all of
the cards are not chosen. There is no pressure on any Leader to add
to her LLL responsibility, nor is it necessary to see that all the goals
are attained. But what you may be surprised to discover is that when
a Leader realizes that someone else has the same hopes and dreams for
the Group or LLL, she is inspired to spend time and energy on that dream!
The Leaders then make their
own plans to implement the goal, including whatever timeframe will work
for them. This portion of the gathering, when Leaders are chatting in
pairs, may be quite noisy! Enjoy the enthusiasm and excitement!
In about a year, meet again
to take stock, celebrate accomplishments, and elicit more goals and
dreams for the next year. You might open the meeting by recognizing
the dreams that have become a reality in the past year. Then, clear
your bulletin board (or bring a new poster board) for the coming year’s
dreams, and be sure to have plenty of blank note cards!
Getting together annually
to discuss goals and dreams helps Leaders stay connected, active, and
excited about LLL work. It is important to share and acknowledge our
many LLL successes and accomplishments, as we sometimes underestimate
the impact of our mother-to-mother helping.
You and your co-Leaders may
be delighted and surprised at how many LLL dreams really do come true.
A Leader since June of
1989, Cathy Harmon has held the positions of Chapter Leader, Associate
Coordinator for Leader Accreditation, and District Advisor. She currently
serves as Area Communications Skills Development Coordinator for Texas
LLL, USA. Her husband, Willy, and their sons, ages 17 and 10, support
and encourage her LLL activities. She says, "The heart of LLL,
to me, is our interactions with mothers, both in one-to-one phone conversations
and at Series Meetings." Please send your ideas and articles for
this column to Nancy Spahr at 174 E. Main St., Peru, Indiana 46970 USA;
fax to 765-472-3889; or write to NSpahr at llli.org (email).
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:31:24 UTC 2007.
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