Time for another Grateful Heart Monday entry where sharing gratitude is always the name of the game, which for today is for Phi Kappa Psi, Kappa Delta, and Alpha Xi Delta from the University of Toledo, three Greek organizations that put forth an incredible effort to bring about a speaking engagement for me on addiction and recovery that ended up being a great success on a number of levels.
How this came about began almost two years ago now, when I started providing alcohol and drug recovery education to all the nursing classes of a teacher from the University of Toledo (UT). During one of them, I had the pleasure of meeting the then president (Casey) of a sorority named Kappa Delta. While she was on the tail end of her schooling to get her degree, she was so impressed with my 12 Step recovery lead that she asked me to do another presentation for her fellow sisters at her chapter house. That in turn later led to me meeting the president of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity at UT where I’d eventually also do a lead for their brothers as well. Somewhere along the way, both Greek chapters asked how open I’d be to doing a speaking engagement for the rest of the Greek organizations on campus, as well as for the rest of the campus in general, which of course I was more than open to doing. For me, any way I can ever get the message of recovery out there, especially for alcohol and drugs, is a huge plus.
So, for a good year, much planning went into putting together this speaking engagement and thanks to Matt from Phi Kappa Psi, Alex from Kappa Delta, and Shelby from Alpha Xi Delta, it all came together on Friday October 25that the Snyder Memorial Auditorium on UT’s campus at 12pm. During the course of two hours, I shared my story from addiction to recovery, had a Q&A session, was interviewed by a member of the staff from the UT television station, and listened to a few Kappa Delta sisters share some valuable alcohol and drug statistics. The response for those in attendance was more than favorable. Many asked for my contact information afterwards and were interested in me doing 12 Step leads for their organizations in the future.
I was blessed that day to see my therapist (Linda) show up to support me, as well as the boyfriend (David) of one of my sponsees (Tricia). Blessed that each of those in attendance paid attention the entire time and didn’t spend it immersed in their cell phones. Blessed that a few personally spoke to me about the pain of family members in their lives who are struggling with addiction. Blessed for the monetary donation I received for all my efforts. And blessed that God continues to use me to share my story of experience, strength, and hope for others to benefit. Because I know that I am planting a seed in each and every person each time I share my journey from addiction to recovery, and in the process, hopefully doing my part to bringing greater light and hope into this world in an area that most definitely needs it.
So, thank you God and thank you Matt, Alex, and Shelby, Linda and David, Phi Kappa Psi, Kappa Delta, and Alpha Xi Delta, for making all this possible and for helping me to continue doing something that I love doing because in the end, there was plenty to be grateful for from doing this presentation!
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
You have a lot of people helping you stay sober! And you are giving back a ton yourself. The power of the Program!! It took me a long time to the cyclical effects of AA. Better late than never.
Thank you Kris!!!