Issue
Number 3
eCONNECT
La
Leche League US Western Division
Forming
Connections Leader to Leader
Piece by Piece: LLLI Policies for USWD Agreements
Opportunity to Help on Division Workgroups
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Piece by Piece: LLLI Policies for USWD Agreements
By Kathryn Major
In the last issue of eConnect, we shared the LLLI Policies for USWD Agreements (PDF file). Some Leaders have asked how they are affected by the new policies.
Let's look at one piece of the Agreements:
Leaders will have the options listed below as to where they might connect, and while the responsibilities and parameters differ with each of these choices, all Leaders will be mutually accountable to each other, where they connect and to the organization as a whole. Leaders can:
- Remain connected within the geographical USWD Area they live
- Connect with another established USWD Area
- Connect with an Accountability area like Heartland
- Connect with another Division/Affiliate
- Join at least 20 other Leaders to form a new recognized USWD Area
- Join at least 20 other Leaders to form a new Accountability area which links to the Area Accountability Network (AAN)
In the introduction to the Agreements, we said: "There is one “change” that should be highlighted. The LLLI Board has been moving toward this “change” for a couple of years and that is the fact that Leaders have the right to choose the Area they report through."
You certainly don't have to make a change; most Leaders will probably remain exactly where they are now. In the past, you joined the Area that already existed in the state where you lived. For example, Lucy, who leads a thriving Group in Denver, Colorado, likes being a part of a large metro area and has many connections to other Groups and Leaders in her community. She sends her statistics to the ACL of Colorado/Wyoming, and attends Chapter meetings and Area events. She has no reason to connect to a geographical USWD Area other than CO/WY.
Some Areas had unique geographical situations and allowed Leaders to join a neighboring state, such as in the Kansas City area. Since the Kansas City metro area straddles the state line between Missouri and Kansas, an agreement was reached years ago between MO and KS, allowing some Leaders on the Kansas side to join LLL of MO so that they could work closely with other Leaders in the city. They share a warm-line phone number, and participate in many of the same community events. But now Leaders in both Areas have the option to connect to another geographical area. For instance, Beth is a long-time Leader who recently moved to Missouri from Illinois, where she was accredited and volunteered for many years. Her children are older and she doesn't lead regular meetings any more, although she enjoys answering help forms and taking phone helping calls. She'd like to maintain the connections she had in IL, and continue reporting her personal contacts through her Group in IL. She has explained this to the ACL in Missouri, and likes to attend Area events and Chapter meetings, but her contacts are reported through her old IL Group.
Suzie is a Leader in a remote part of California, and she finds it difficult to get to Area events because of both the distance and mountain travel. She has a small Group, but she doesn't get a lot of members or phone calls. At the last LLLI Conference, she met another Leader from Montana who is a lot like her--their children are the same ages and they really connected as they were attending many of the same conference sessions. They both know a couple of other Leaders from their homeschooling discussion on the Community Network who have the same geographical issues, and they've heard about this new Area called Heartland that sounds really interesting. It's open to Leaders from all over, and all they have to do is form a kitchen table group and be willing to vouch for each other. Since they already communicate via email, they know that will work well for them. They will send their meeting reports and memberships to LLLI via Heartland.
Kathy is a Leader who recently moved to Mexico after living in Indiana for many years. She was a District Advisor in Indiana, and really enjoyed emailing and communicating with Area Leaders. She attended a meeting in Mexico, but she doesn't speak Spanish and she didn't connect with anyone right from the start. She'd like to continue working with IN and reporting to them so she doesn't lose touch with LLL while she's out of the country.
Lisa and a group of Leaders she knows feel like they are often too far away from the activities planned in their Area. Their state joined with a neighboring state many years ago to form a single LLL Area, but that makes finding locations for events very difficult. It's always hard to pick a place that everyone can get to easily, and every time there's a conference, at least half the Area doesn't attend. They have at least 20 Leaders who are interested in starting a new USWD Area.
Sophia is excited about the new accountability area she has heard about via the Community Network. Her husband is in the military and they move regularly. Every time she moves she has to find a new Area, Group and Leaders with which to connect. She likes getting to know Leaders in other parts of the world and visits lots of Groups, but it would be easier to be a part of one accountability area that stays in touch with each other regularly, no matter where they are stationed. She has met many other Leaders over the years who also move often due to military service. She knows they could really benefit from supporting each other as one connected accountability area.
All of these Leaders share a common goal of helping mothers breastfeed, and as Leaders they will find ways together to meet the portion of the USWD Agreements under "Leaders Providing Mother-to-Mother Support."