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Our 2023 Outreach Actions

#1 — We sent both of DA's books to 19 locations of Bridge of Hope — https://bridgeofhopeinc.org/locations/ — which helps families avoid homelessness. We followed up with one single email to all locations and program managers, asking them to share our free literature offer with their service recipients. Our cost was $568.07.

#2 — We sent 124 one-page FAXs to all available US Bankruptcy Court trustee executives and regional offices, plus to all of the credit counseling agencies and financial management education providers certified by the US Bankruptcy Court system, asking them to share our free literature offer whenever they have the opportunity. Our cost was $19.99 from our tech fund for 800 one-page FAXs per month; we will renew at $34.99 for 1,000 pages per month.

#3 — We sent 37 emails to various eviction resolution and dispute resolution agencies throughout the state of Washington. If you have access to multi-page lists of tenant eviction resources for other states, as either a tenant or landlord, please send them to bdaworkshops@gmail.com so that we can reach out and offer our message of hope to folks who are experiencing significant financial difficulties and may be compulsive debtors like us.

#4 — We sent 64 one-page FAXs to all available state substance abuse and mental health agencies at https://findtreatment.gov/state-agencies. Those two agencies share a FAX in most states, but we sent two wherever there were two FAX numbers available.

#5 — We sent emails to all of the primary international (to us) associations of social workers listed by the International Federation of Social Workers at https://www.ifsw.org/about-ifsw/our-members/, who had available email addresses on their web pages. Our emails introduced Debtors Anonymous to these associations, including several important links at debtorsanonymous.org. Of the 139 countries listed on the web page above, there were email addresses, often multiple email addresses, for 103 of the relevant social worker associations. That is: 25 African countries; 23 Asia Pacific countries; 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries (this is where Mexico is listed); 37 European countries; and Canada.

#6 — We sent both of DA's books to 56 locations (including one international advocacy branch) and the US Headquarters of the National Association of Social Workers — https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Chapters/Find-a-Chapter — which is the largest organization for social workers in the world with more than 150,000 members. Our cost was $1,707.67.

#7 — We made our initial outreach to the National Association of Black Social Workers — https://www.nabsw.org/page/ActiveChapters — by sending both of DA's books to the National Office Manager at their National Headquarters. We have asked the Office Manager to take a look at DA's books and to provide us with a list of chapter addresses and phone numbers if he thinks these books are something they would be interested in having and referring to members and members' clients. We count 77 chapters on their website. At our average $30 per mailing, including sales tax and free shipping, we're looking at $2,310 for this mailing once we have the list of addresses.

#8 — We sent 67 one-page FAXs to all available county directors of the Alabama Department of Human Resources listed at https://dhr.alabama.gov/county-office-contact/.

#9 — We sent 50 one-page FAXs to all available counties in California's Department of Social Services listed at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/county-offices.

#10 — We sent 48 one-page FAXs to all available counties in Colorado's Department of Human Services listed at https://cdhs.colorado.gov/our-partners/counties/contact-your-county-human-services-department.

#11 — We sent 70 one-page FAXs to all available counties in Florida's Department of Children and Families listed at https://www.myflfamilies.com/service-programs/access/map.shtml.

#12 — We sent 130 one-page FAXs to all available counties in Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services listed at https://dfcs.georgia.gov/locations.

#13 — We shared three phone calls, two more emails, and a FAX with the National Office Manager of the National Association of Black Social Workers — https://www.nabsw.org/page/ActiveChapters. We discussed the possibility of receiving a list of addresses and phone numbers for the 77 chapters on their website. That list will not be made available. On the other hand, the National Office Manager is willing to ask the President of the NABSW if we could provide books for each of the 360 estimated registrant packets for their upcoming 55th annual conference in Chicago in early April. At the wholesale price of $10 per book from the GSO, plus 10% sales tax and 10% shipping, we're looking at $4,320 for this distribution of conference-approved literature to 360 social workers. Any related earmarked donations are welcome.

#14 — We sent 90 of the outreach brochures we had designed and printed (for our Outreach to Veterans project in October 2022) to a fellow DA member in Pennsylvania, who will be distributing the brochures in her local county courthouse. We will happily provide outreach brochures — in bundles of 45 — to any DA or BDA member who asks. However, we beg of you not to request the brochures then leave them in your car, on your desk, near your fireplace, under your bird, etc.

#15 — We sent 21 one-page FAXs to all available processing centers in Hawaii's Human Services system listed at https://humanservices.hawaii.gov/bessd/files/2012/12/Statewide-processing-Centers-1.26.15.pdf.

#16 — We sent 72 one-page FAXs to all available Family Community Resource Centers in Illinois' Department of Human Services listed at https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?module=12.

#17 — We're a go on providing DA conference-approved books for the participant packets for the 55th Annual NABSW National Conference -- https://web.cvent.com/event/c447ebfa-24dd-4ec4-b0dc-136fe1d493ac/summary?rt=trnT8QLMaUKaea5XqN14Cg. Here are the details so far:

Their early bird registration closes on March 3rd, to which they usually add 100 more to project for late and onsite registrations. We'll be following up on March 6th to get their estimated attendance. For now, we're still working with 350 as our base, rounded to 360 because DA's books come in boxes of 20 when paying the lowest price of $10 per book.

Having seen the books, the National Office Manager thinks that sending half A Currency of Hope and half 12, 12, and 12 is the way to go. (We asked for his suggestion.) He will let their registrants know that a second book is available by request via our website, which will increase awareness of our literature offer and provide for more outreach engagement with helping professionals.

We would like to order the books on or as close to March 6th as possible, giving the GSO time to receive a billpay check, to prepare the order, and to get the books shipped to Chicago. We're guessing the hotel will accept the books a week before their conference starts but no sooner, and we'll want to give the GSO as wide a window as possible.

For anyone prepared to make a donation to this effort, our estimated cost as stated above is $4,320. Please make your contributions between March 1st and 5th if possible. That way we'll receive the money and spend it in the same month without reporting big swings in our PI fund balance or on our balance sheet.

#18 — We sent individual emails to each of the six active zone presidents listed at https://www.parentswithoutpartners.org/HTML/contact.html.

#19 — We sent 83 one-page FAXs to all available DHS Offices AND Child Support Recovery Units in Iowa's Department of Health and Human Services listed at https://hhs.iowa.gov/dhs_office_locator.

#20 — We received a follow up reply to our outreach to International Federation of Social Workers at https://www.ifsw.org/about-ifsw/our-members/, from a social worker in Mexico. We responded to offer her our two conference-approved books, which was not part of the original outreach project

#21 — We have ordered 500 DA conference-approved books for the participant packets for the 55th Annual NABSW National Conference -- https://web.cvent.com/event/c447ebfa-24dd-4ec4-b0dc-136fe1d493ac/summary?rt=trnT8QLMaUKaea5XqN14Cg. Here are the most recent details:

Their early bird registration closed on March 3rd with 391 pre-registrations, to which we've agreed to add 100 more to project for late and onsite registrations. This is an expansion from our earlier estimate of 350 books, yet we are fully funded for this project, in fact the project is fully self-supporting, donations in are equal to expenses out, based strictly on generous contributions from individual BDA members.

Our cost for this project, 500 books shipped from GSO to NABSW's conference hotel in Chicago, is $5,544. Thank you to God and to our BDA fellows!

#22 — We sent both of DA's books to the 2 locations (Dallas and Phoenix) of Helping Hands for Single Moms — https://helpinghandsforsinglemoms.org/. Our cost was $60.72.

#23 — We sent both of DA's books to The Life of a Single Mom (Baton Rouge, LA) — https://thelifeofasinglemom.com/. Our cost was $30.78.

#24 — We sent both of DA's books to the 5 regional offices (San Francisco, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, and Atlanta) of Mercy Housing — https://www.mercyhousing.org/regional-offices/. Our cost was $153.41.

#25 — We sent both of DA's books to The Single Mom KC (Overland Park, KS) — https://www.thesinglemomkc.org/. Our cost was $30.62.

#26 — We sent both of DA's books to Single Parent Advocate (Carrollton, TX) — https://singleparentadvocate.org/. Our cost was $30.32.

#27 — We sent both of DA's books to Gingerbread, the charity for single parent families (London, UK) — https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/. Our cost was $29.23.

#28 — We sent both of DA's books to Fellowship Housing (Hoffman Estates, IL) — https://www.fhcmoms.org/. Our cost was $30.80.

#29 — We sent both of DA's books to 38 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering 12 western states (Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico; Wyoming is served by Spokane, WA). Our cost was $1,145.19.

#30 — We sent both of DA's books to Arukah, a transitional housing program for men (Livermore, CA) — https://www.arukahweb.org/. Our cost was $30.88.

#31 — We sent both of DA's books to 36 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering 12 states in the Central time zone (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky). Our cost was $1,088.06.

#32 — We sent follow-up emails to 36 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering 12 states in the Central time zone (North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kentucky), letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#33 — We sent both of DA's books to 33 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering 5 southern states in the Central time zone (Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama). Our cost was $998.84.

Last in this series of outreach projects, we will send DA's books to an estimated 100 food banks in the Feeding America network in the Eastern time zone. Our estimated cost will be $3,100.

#34 — We sent follow-up emails to 33 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering 5 southern states in the Central time zone (Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama), letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#35 — We sent both of DA's books to 19 Bishops / Episcopal Districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church — https://www.ame-church.com/leadership/bishops-of-the-church/ — as a first action in a larger vision of inviting many more people of color to our fellowship and recovery from compulsive debting. Our cost was $573.40.

#36 — We sent follow-up emails to 19 Bishops / Episcopal Districts of the African Methodist Episcopal Church — https://www.ame-church.com/leadership/bishops-of-the-church/ — letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#37 — We followed up with the National Office Manager of the NABSW to ask about the reception of the 500 DA conference-approved books we provided, via the GSO, for the participant packets for the 55th Annual NABSW National Conference -- https://web.cvent.com/event/c447ebfa-24dd-4ec4-b0dc-136fe1d493ac/summary?rt=trnT8QLMaUKaea5XqN14Cg:

They had 600 registrants at their annual conference, based on a plan of 350, and the conference was a smashing success.

Of the 500 books we sent, only two went back to DC, and our primary contact at NABSW decided to keep those for himself and give them a read. We're anticipating, based on our own experiences with new books, that it will take most folks three to nine months to read these books, some much longer. We anticipate a meaningful uptick in literature requests once they've read the books and begin to tell others about them.

In the meantime, our contact has agreed to forward our free literature link to their conference committee for follow up and will suggest that the free literature offer go into their next membership-wide newsletter.

#38 — We sent both of DA's books to 28 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering three non-Atlantic eastern time zone states (Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio). Our cost was $837.84.

#39 — We sent follow-up emails to 28 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering three non-Atlantic eastern time zone states (Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio), letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#40 — We sent both of DA's books to 8 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering six New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island). Our cost was $236.24.

#41 — We sent follow-up emails to 8 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering six New England states (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island), letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#42 — We sent both of DA's books to 33 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering seven Mid-Atlantic states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) plus Washington, DC. Our cost was $985.58.

#43 — We sent follow-up emails to 33 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering seven Mid-Atlantic states (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia) plus Washington, DC, letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#44 — We sent both of DA's books to 24 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering four Southeastern Atlantic states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida). Our cost was $722.44.

#45 — We sent follow-up emails to 24 food banks in the Feeding America network — https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank — covering four Southeastern Atlantic states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida), letting them know their books were on the way, and why we had sent them.

#46 — We purposely and intentionally took a summer break from our outreach program. First, so that we could refresh our energy and inspiration for this incredibly important service to our fellow compulsive debtors both in and out of the DA and BDA fellowship. Second, to avoid sending unsolicited conference-approved DA and BDA literature to recipients who might very likely be on summer vacation or spending time with their families. Our three-month break began on June 16th and ended on September 15th.

#47 — We agreed by group conscience to pursue one more BIG outreach project in 2023: sending DA's conference-approved books to all US Bankruptcy Judges. There are an estimated 360 US Bankruptcy Judges — estimate based on previous outreach projects, pre-Covid — including all 50 States plus DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico. At an estimated cost of $30 per shipment, including sales tax and free shipping via Amazon, our estimated total project cost will be $10,800. In the entries that follow, we will break our costs down by state.

#48 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the Alaska District of the US Court System. For this and following outreach activity entries, we will not include the relevant websites, although we've done that for other agencies above. We do not want to suggest or encourage bankruptcy for compulsive debtors. In fact, DA has no opinion on bankruptcy; it is an outside issue to our fellowship. It is a personal choice which many of us choose to avoid by taking personal responsibility for our debts via the Steps. Our cost was $56.00. (No sales tax.)

#49 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the Hawaii District of the US Court System. Because Amazon is estimating delivery in mid-October, we have also shipped a set of DA's books from our literature coordinator in San Ramon, CA. Our combined cost was $56.32.

#50 — We sent both of DA's books to seven Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Washington (State). Our cost was $215.44.

#51 — We sent both of DA's books to five Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Oregon. Our cost was $140.00. (No sales tax.)

#52 — We sent both of DA's books to 37 Bankruptcy Judges in the Central, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of California. Our cost was $1,130.44.

#53 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Idaho. Our cost was $59.36.

#54 — We sent both of DA's books to five Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Nevada. Our cost was $151.68.

#55 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Montana. Our cost was $28.00. (No sales tax.)

#56 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Wyoming. Our cost was $29.68.

#57 — We sent both of DA's books to four Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Utah. Our cost was $120.72.

#58 — We sent both of DA's books to five Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Colorado. Our cost was $153.70.

#59 — We sent both of DA's books to eight Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Arizona. Our cost was $243.28.

#60 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the District of New Mexico. Our cost was $60.28.

#61 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of North Dakota. Our cost was $30.10.

#62 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of South Dakota. Our cost was $29.74.

#63 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Nebraska. Our cost was $60.00.

#64 — We reached out to our 455-member constant contact subscriber list to invite them to participate in funding the estimated 276 remaining shipments to US Bankruptcy Judges throughout the Central and Eastern time zones plus DC, Guam, and Puerto Rico. This message included the following:

If you have no experience carrying the message to still-suffering debtors yet, this is your chance to change that.

As a 12th Step and 11th Tradition activity, member and group contributions to outreach projects like this count as DOING outreach, the third fold of our threefold purpose:

"In DA [and BDA], our purpose is threefold: to stop incurring unsecured debt, to share our experience with the newcomer, and to reach out to other compulsive debtors." (Emphasis ours.)

Please make contributions to our outreach project via https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/bdaworkshops with a note that says "Books to Bankruptcy Judges" or something similar.

#65 — To the message above, we received the following response: "I am curious what the goal is for sending out DA literature to bankruptcy judges?"

To which we replied:

It's simply public information for those who have regular, ongoing interactions with debtors. https://debtorsanonymous.org/fellowship-services/public-information/

As it stands, our bankruptcy system and process have no element of helping debtors to change course. DUI prosecutions were once the same. Drunk drivers were just one version of criminals; now they're [which includes some of us recovering debtors too] known as people with a sickness who can get better. Bankrupts are still just one version of "deadbeats."

By informing bankruptcy judges not only that our program exists, which we did several times in the years pre-Covid, but also exactly what it is as defined by our conference-approved literature, we hope to plant the seeds of another way of looking at debtors.

The system of sending convicted DUIs to AA, with court slips, as part of the court process might someday be the reality for bankruptcy courts and debtors. No time soon [probably], but one can hope and imagine, etc.

#66 — We sent both of DA's books to three Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Kansas. Our cost was $91.28.

#67 — We sent both of DA's books to five Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Northern, and Western Districts of Oklahoma. Our cost was $152.34.

#68 — We sent both of DA's books to 18 Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas. Our cost was $545.76.

#69 — We sent both of DA's books to four Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Minnesota. Our cost was $120.88.

#70 — We sent both of DA's books to three Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa. Our cost was $89.88.

#71 — We sent both of DA's books to six Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Missouri. Our cost was $184.56.

#72 — We sent both of DA's books to three Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas. Our cost was $91.58.

#73 — We sent both of DA's books to six Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana. Our cost was $153.10.

#74 — We sent both of DA's books to six Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin. Our cost was $206.78.

#75 — We sent both of DA's books to 14 Bankruptcy Judges in the Central, Northern, and Southern Districts of Illinois. Our cost was $430.06.

#76 — We sent both of DA's books to five Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky. Our cost was $148.40.

#77 — We sent both of DA's books to 11 Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Tennessee. Our cost was $337.30.

#78 — We sent both of DA's books to four Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi. Our cost was $120.12.

#79 — We sent both of DA's books to nine Bankruptcy Judges in the Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Alabama. Our cost was $272.16.

#80 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the Bankruptcy Division of the District Court of Guam with oversight by the US Court System. (Guam is a US territory, and native-born residents of Guam are US citizens.) Our cost was $34.98. (No sales tax, but there was a delivery fee.)

#81 — We sent both of DA's books to four Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Puerto Rico. (Puerto Rico is a US territory, and native-born residents of Puerto Rico are US citizens.) Our cost was $112. (No sales tax, no shipping.)

#82 — We sent both of DA's books to nine Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. Our cost was $267.12.

#83 — We sent both of DA's books to eight Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern and Southern Districts of Indiana. Our cost was $239.68.

#84 — We sent both of DA's books to 12 Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio. Our cost was $361.66.

#85 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Maine. Our cost was $59.08.

#86 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Vermont. Our cost was $29.96.

#87 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of New Hampshire. Our cost was $28.00. (No sales tax.)

#88 — We sent both of DA's books to three Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Massachusetts. Our cost was $89.28.

#89 — We sent both of DA's books to three Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Connecticut. Our cost was $89.34.

#90 — We sent both of DA's books to one Bankruptcy Judge in the District of Rhode Island. Our cost was $29.96.

#91 — We sent both of DA's books to nine Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Delaware. Our cost was $252.00. (No sales tax.)

#92 — We sent both of DA's books to six Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Maryland. Our cost was $178.08.

#93 — We sent both of DA's books to eight Bankruptcy Judges in the District of New Jersey. Our cost was $238.88.

#94 — We sent both of DA's books to 20 Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of New York. Our cost was $608.32.

#95 — We sent both of DA's books to 9 Bankruptcy Judges in the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania. Our cost was $269.36.

#96 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the District of Columbia. Our cost was $59.36.

#97 — We sent both of DA's books to two Bankruptcy Judges in the Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia. Our cost was $59.92.

Join us in solvency, recovery, clarity, and joy.

Our 2023 Outreach Actions

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