To apply for LLL leadership, a mother needs to meet certain prerequisites. These are discussed in the document, “Thinking About LLL Leadership?” The prerequisites require that you have breastfed a baby for at least nine months, are a member of LLL, are in agreement with LLL’s philosophy of mothering, and have a recommendation from an LLL Leader.
Should you decide you would like to apply for leadership, you and your LLL Group Leader would need to discuss your experiences with regard to how you meet the prerequisites. If you live in a community without an LLL Group, you can be put in contact with a Leader who can correspond with you and get to know you preparatory to writing a recommendation for you. Alternatively, if you have been involved in an LLL Group where you previously lived or have used LLL’s online forums or online meetings, there may be a current Leader who knows you and who could complete a recommendation for you.
After an application is initiated, a Leader Accreditation Department representative and the sponsoring Leader help guide a Leader Applicant through a sequence of reading, writing, role play, and study. Typically this sequence of preparation takes 6-12 months to complete, depending on the amount of time an Applicant has to devote to the work.
There are also expenses related to initiating an application. The required expenses include:
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- LLL membership ($40 per year and is available to purchase at the LLL of Texas website; however membership with any LLL entity is acceptable)
- The application fee of $15, a one time expense.
- Obtaining a copy of the Leader’s Handbook (a PDF download version is available).
- Ownership of the current edition of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is also required (approximately $20).
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Some Applicants incur additional fees purchasing other reading materials but often these other materials are optional or can be borrowed. Although these expenses “add up,” they are usually not due at the same time–and many do not recur – so mothers often find them manageable. For example, you might already own a copy of The Womanly Art and are currently a member, so the only immediate expense might be the $15 application fee and LLL membership.
If you have further questions about the procedures and costs involved in applying for LLL leadership, please speak to any LLL Group Leader in your community. If there is no LLL Group or Leader nearby, please contact LLL of Texas’s Coordinator of Leader Accreditation.