For Facilitators

The day of the meeting:

• Text or call group members if you have their contact information. Ask if they are coming to the meeting. Invite them to arrive 10 minutes early to sign the roll.

• Prepare the meeting materials:

  • Bring a copy of this workbook and the booklet My Foundation: Principles, Skills, Habits for each group member.

  • Prepare a way to show videos, if possible.

  • Don’t have books or videos? You can get them online at srs.lds.org.

  • Bring copies of the Self-Reliance Services Preferred Lists: (1) the Preferred Jobs List and (2) the Preferred Schools and Programs List. You can get these from your stake self-reliance center, from a self-reliance specialist, or online at srs.lds.org/pef.

table diagram

30 minutes before the meeting:

• Set chairs around a table so everyone can be close.

  • The facilitator does not stand during the meeting and does not sit at the head of the table. The facilitator should not be the center of attention but should help the group members focus on each other.

10 minutes before the meeting:

• Greet group members warmly as they arrive. Learn their names.

• Pass around a piece of paper and ask group members to write their full names, ward or branch, and date of birth (day and month, not year).

• Assign a timekeeper to keep the group on schedule. Ask him or her to set a timer as directed in the book.

  • For example, you will see instructions that say “Time: Set the timer to 60 minutes for the Learn section.” The timekeeper will set the time on a phone, watch, or other available timer and will tell the group when the time is up. Then the group can decide whether to start the next section or continue their discussion for a few more minutes.

After the meeting:

• After the group meeting, go to srs.lds.org/report and follow the instructions to register all group members.

• After the first meeting, make a contact list to share with the group in the next meeting.

At starting time:

• Say: “Welcome to this self-reliance group.”

• Ask people to turn off phones and other devices.

• Say the following:

  • “This is a self-reliance group called ‘Education for Better Work.’ Are all of you here to get more education?

  • “If you do not need a Perpetual Education Fund loan, great! If you do need a PEF loan, you will be ready to start the application after our fourth meeting.

  • “We will meet 12 times. Each meeting will take about two hours. We will also spend one to two hours each day keeping our commitments that will help us get education or training. Will you make this time commitment?”

• Have an opening prayer (and hymn, if desired).

• Say the following:

  • “Every time we meet, we begin with a topic from the booklet called My Foundation: Principles, Skills, Habits. This booklet helps us learn and live principles, skills, and habits that lead to spiritual and temporal self-reliance.”

• Set the timer to 20 minutes for My Foundation.

• Read the First Presidency’s introduction letter on page 2 of My Foundation. Then complete principle 1 in that booklet and return to this workbook.

My Foundation cover