Alcoholics Anonymous

AA PreambleAlcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc.

Questions?Our telephone number is (434) 293-6565. An AA member will often answer the phone, but if no AA member is available, our answering service will respond. In that case you can request that an AA member call you back. Feel free to call about meeting lists, information about meetings, directions, or for any questions about AA. At this time this site is mostly for AA Charlottesville, but there is much information about AA on the Internet. Official AA brochures and texts, which are very helpful, can be found on the web site of Alcoholics Anonymous, World Services Office, link here https://www.aa.org and listed as GSO in the sidebar.

Do You Want to Visit AA?
If you have a desire to quit drinking, any meeting is open to you. If you would like to attend a meeting for professional or personal reasons, make sure that you attend an “open” meeting. Look for the O as in OD, OStep, OTrad, etc. on the meeting list, and avoid the “closed” meetings, as in CD, CStep, CTrad, CBB, etc.

Different Types of AA Meetings
Open meetings are for anyone, including students or family members of alcoholics, who wishes to attend. Closed meetings are only for members of Alcoholics Anonymous or for those who have a desire to stop drinking.

More specifically, Closed Big Book/Open Big Book meetings, indicated by CBB/OBB in the online or printed meeting schedule, read and discuss passages from Alcoholics Anonymous. Closed Step/Traditions (CStep/Trad) or Open Step/Traditions (OStep/Trad) meetings read and discuss the book 12 Steps and 12 Traditions. Closed Discussion (CD) meetings are closed discussions of topics related to alcoholism and recovery, while Open Discussion (OD) are the same but open. Closed Step (CS) meetings discuss one of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, while Open Step (OS) meetings are the same but open. In Open Speaker (OSpeaker) and Closed Speaker (CSpeaker) Speaker meetings someone tells their story of recovery.

Are You New to the Area?
Let us know and feel free to ask for help to find the meetings! Call this number  434-293-6565 (also listed above) particularly during this pandemic to learn how to access a virtual meeting. At this time there are a few in-person meetings , where you can ask a member directly for assistance. Please check the Meeting Schedules for open, in-person meetings.

An Updated History of the Heart of VA District is Now Available!

After much hard work, an updated history of our District has been completed. Click Here to read more about it or visit the Archives Page.