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The Alumnae Association
Isn’t Only for Retired Leaders
Carol Meredith
Coordinator of Area Alumnae Representatives
From: LEAVEN, Vol. 40 No. 5, October-November 2004, pp. 116-17.
Are you planning to retire
from active leadership one day? Would you be interested in fun activities
with other like-minded women? Do you want to keep up with the latest
research on breastfeeding? Would you like to help ensure the existence
of LLL for upcoming generations? Then the Alumnae Association is for
you.
Many of you reading this
have young children, are actively leading a Group, and are concerned
with finding Group workers and co-Leaders. An Alumnae Association is
furthest from your minds. You may have heard somewhere that a group
of women hiked into the Grand Canyon, but that wasn’t anything
you could have done. Well, be prepared to expand your horizons! The
Alumnae Association is for you, too. It’s also for the members
in your Group. It’s for all active and former Leaders and members.
The Alumnae Association was
started about 11 years ago as a way of continuing Leaders’ and
members’ involvement with LLLI. Many Leaders and members move on
to other activities as their children grow older but they can stay connected
with the philosophy and way of life that they have come to know and
appreciate by joining the Alumnae Association.
We have formal and informal
gatherings at Area and LLLI Conferences, we take cruises and hikes,
and we participate in special projects. By holding Recognition Ceremonies
at Area Conferences, we acknowledge the contribution that former Leaders
have made to breastfeeding mothers and babies. We want women to know
that the work they did for La Leche League is greatly appreciated. In
October 2002, 37 Leaders and former Leaders renewed their bonds by taking
a hike into the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. This was a life-changing
trip for many of us who had first participated in the original hike
10 years earlier. We hope to repeat this hike again in eight more years.
As an additional benefit to membership, Alumnae members receive the
newsletter Continuum, and we continue to get a discount on most items
in the LLLI Catalogue.
Membership in the Alumnae
Association is $8 (US) a year for active Leaders or members and $25
(US) a year for those who are no longer active.
There may be as many as 40,000
retired Leaders, but LLLI has lost contact with many of them over the
years. This is unfortunate as experienced Leaders who become professionals
and work in the community are a valuable asset to our organization.
To help organize alumnae activities and track down these former Leaders,
each Area in the United States has an Area Alumnae Representative (AAR).
The below is a list of the current US AARs. Please contact your AAR
to find out about local activities or if you would like to offer your
help. If your Area isn’t listed and you think you may be interested
in the position, please write to cameredith at yahoo.com (email).
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:32:02 UTC 2007.
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