| It's an opportunity to restructure, reorganize, and rejuvenate
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Independence is in the works for the LLLI Alumnae Association—an opportunity to restructure, reorganize, and rejuvenate.
The Alumnae Association is one of several programs that will no longer fall under the auspices of LLLI. At the LLLI Board of Directors meeting October 26 - 29, 2006, the Board approved a Strategic Plan to transform LLLI into a global organization. As a result, responsibility for each of the programs that were determined to be primarily serving the United States “will be shifted to entities served, and will be staffed and funded by those entities, if there is interest to continue that staffing and funding.”
In addition to the LLLI Alumnae Association, programs that will no longer be supported by the LLLI budget include the Breastfeeding Helpline, the Center for Breastfeeding Information, the Peer Counselor program, the Physician’s Seminar, and the LLLI Conference. According to the report from the Board, “open communications and translations will be a priority for the global organization.” The Strategic Plan has set a target that the LLLI website have portals for each major language for all countries with LLL Groups.
On November 20, 2006, Barbara Emanuel, LLLI Interim Executive Director, posted a message to Leaders via the Community Network (CN) announcing the Strategic Plan Objectives. If you are a member of the CN, you can view the information Barbara shared under “New on the CN—Executive Director’s Blog” at http://community.llli.org/welcome.htm.
So what does this mean for the Alumnae Association? Will there be big changes? That remains to be seen. The Alums have always operated on a miniscule budget, with most of the work done on a volunteer basis. That volunteer status probably won’t change!
On the other hand, much Alumnae energy has gone into myriad activities at the LLLI Conference every two years (see this year’s exciting list on page 6). With no conference scheduled past 2007, this energy can be redirected towards priorities that will be set in the coming months, such as stronger support to ensure that LLL will exist for future generations, better connections with local Alumnae, more recognition for the achievements of current and retired Leaders, and added trips or other events.
As a USA-based association, our focus also becomes narrowed and better defined. Until now, the Alum’s primarily USA emphasis was really a weakness—the result of insufficient funding to act in a more global way beyond the LLLI Conference. Now this focus becomes a strength.
Since the decision was relayed to Alumnae Coordinator Marilyn Thompson, the Alumnae Council has formed committees to address the various hurdles that need to be jumped on the way to independence. The goals are to establish a strong foundation; to maintain the activities, services, and projects that are meaningful and working well; and to make the transition smoothly.
Workgroups are studying options on legal requirements and finances, mission and goals, membership and record-keeping, fund raising, the Web site, and Continuum for starters.
If you’d like more information or want to volunteer to help the Alums, email Marilyn or call her at 763-559-2173.
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