Mission Statement
Ann Arbor Women’s Group (A2WG) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit group that creates opportunities for women recovering from alcohol and drug addiction to develop and sustain a healthy, sober lifestyle. Our focus is to help recovering women to:
- develop a network of recovering friends
- have fun in healthy ways
- learn tools for sober living
Monthly Events
Many of our events are sobriety-enhancing workshops (e.g., meditation, journaling, staying sober during the holidays). Others are fun social activities (e.g., hiking, movie-viewing, horseback riding, a family picnic, ziplining).
We keep our events accessible to all by making them low-cost or scholarship-based. We offer transportation to all our events for the many women who need it.
Annual Recovery Retreat
The annual Women’s Recovery Retreat at the Lake Huron Retreat Center has it all!
- A professional retreat leader provides a program to sharpen our recovery tools
- We have AA meetings and workshops
- We do art projects
- We make lasting friendships with other sober women
- Did we mention s’mores by the campfire on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron?
More than 20 of the 60 women attending receive scholarships funded by significant fundraising efforts throughout the year. Thus, these women pay a very low fee.
Childcare
One of our most expensive, but vital, services is providing childcare for two weekly 12-step meetings. We hire Red-Cross-certified child-care workers who offer parents a safe place for their children while the parents attend recovery meetings (or some of our other events)
Why We Do It
Connecting women in recovery is our primary purpose. In early sobriety, most women have few sober friends; and they risk relapse if they hang out with their old friends. Further, many women worry they’ll never be able to have fun without drinking.
Research shows that women who make strong bonds in recovery tend to have longevity in sobriety. A2WG events create new healthy friendships among sober women while enhancing their recovery through fun, informative activities. Sober women are healthy, contributing members of society. They are dependable employees; and they are able to provide a stable homelife for their children.
Our events, workshops and retreats are free, low-cost, and/or scholarship based. If you are a former alcoholic or addict in recovery, and you are a woman, you qualify. Just register for our events.
We list upcoming events on the home page and on the events and retreats page. We also post all of our events on social media. There are links to your favorite social media sites on every webpage. The fastest way to find out about upcoming events is to
- Sign-up to receive recovery event emails and/or
- Join our text notification list by texting 313131 with message eza2wg
Affiliation
In case you’re wondering, we honor the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Traditions by remaining unaffiliated with any particular AA meeting or structure. Our non-profit corporation is operated the same way a club rents out space for meetings; it is separate from AA. This independence allows us to raise money, receive grants, and perform other fiscal transactions.
What Our Participants Say
These are the types of comments we often hear
- I used to think there was no way to laugh and have a good time in recovery. A2WG is a great way to connect and have a fun time with other sober women
- Meeting the wonderful women in A2WG early in recovery was such a blessing for me. I love these women and the educational activities and fun times we’ve spent together.
- Great women. Great times. Amazing activities for anyone wanting to know how much fun sobriety can really be ! Love the A2WG!
