Your General Service Office (G.S.O.), the Grapevine and the General Service Structure
Copyright © 2020 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved.
How GSO Serves A.A.
The General Service Office in New York City serves all A.A. groups in the United States and Canada. GSO also offers services to A.A. overseas, especially in countries where there is no service structure. Many other countries have their own general service offices as well. The U.S./ Canada office works with committees of A.A.’s General Service Board and the General Service Conference (U.S. and Canada). GSO has broad responsibilities to its member groups, including the following:
- To collect and organize shared experience on group challenges and solutions, and to pass this information along to A.A. groups and members throughout the U.S. and Canada when asked.
- To work with alcoholics overseas and in the armed forces; with those living in areas with no meetings; with housebound and seagoing A.A.s; and with members in treatment and correctional facilities.
- To respond to letters requesting information about A.A. and the help it provides for alcoholics.
- To publish the A.A. newsletter, Box 4-5-9, and other bulletins; to publish and distribute A.A. books and pamphlets approved by the General Service Conference; and to provide a sampling of complimentary literature and service materials to each new group.
- To disseminate public information at the national and international levels for A.A. as a whole, in cooperation with print and electronic media as well as with organizations concerned with the treatment of alcoholism.
- To coordinate and support the work of General Service Conference committees.
- To maintain the GSO Archives.
- To operate and maintain the aa.org website and the Meeting Guide app.
GSO on social media
The General Service office maintains a Linked In page and a YouTube presence. Both channels provide new avenues for connecting with the message of A.A.
