Teen Bylaws For the Washington DC Chapter Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated (Amended May 5, 2012; May 2, 2010; 1999) ARTICLE I NAME The name of this organization shall be the Washington, DC Chapter, Teen Group(s) of Jack and Jill of American, Incorporated. ARTICLE II OBJECTIVES/AIMS Section 1. The objective of this organization is to create a medium of contact for teens with a constructive educational, recreation, and social programming. Section 2. Community service shall be an integral part of the yearly program to help/improve the community in which we live. ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP Section 1. The organization shall consist of the teens whose mothers, legal guardians, or custodial caretakers are active and financial members of the Washington DC Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. Section 2. A teen must be between the ages of thirteen (13) and twenty (20) and be active and in good standing. To be considered active, a teen must attend meetings and participate in local chapter teen activities with his/her mother, legal guardian or custodial caretaker who must be a member of the Washington, DC Chapter. Section 3. The active status of a teen must terminate when he/she reaches the age of 20 or when the teen s mother, legal guardian or custodial caretaker withdraws her membership or is terminated from membership with her local chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. Section 4. Active teen members shall have general supervision over the business affairs of the chapter teen program and shall exercise the sole right to vote. Each teen must fulfill the following obligations in order to be considered active and in good standing: attend five business meetings, inclusive of the May meeting, and pay all required dues/assessments. Teens who run for office must meet additional criteria, as discussed in Article V, Section 2. 1
ARTICLE IV FINANCES Section 1. Teens must pay annual dues to be considered in good standing. The amount of the annual dues will be determined by the teen executive board with the approval of the teen advisors and will be announced to the general teen body at the September business meeting. Dues are to be paid in one lump sum by the October business meeting. Section 2. All requests for distribution of teen funds shall be submitted to the Chapter Treasurer with the signature of two teen advisors. Section 3. The Teen President and Vice President shall attend Regional and National meetings as required, as the delegate and alternative, respectively. Transportation and registration fees (including hotel) are to be paid by the Washington, DC Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. ARTICLE V OFFICERS Section 1. Required officers are President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Financial Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Treasurer and Foundation Chair. Appointed officers (appointed by the President) are: Parliamentarian, Historian, Legislative Chair, Chaplain, Sergeant-At-Arms, Time Keeper, Editor, and Photographer. Each executive committee teen officer shall serve a term of one year, beginning July 1 st. All outgoing officers shall complete their duties and transfer all accounts, records, and needed information to the new officers by July 1 st of the election year. Section 2. Candidates who run for office must have attended at least 3 community service activities, 4 business meetings, and 3 additional activities during the current election year. In addition, candidates for the office of President and Vice President must have attended at least one teen conference and one cluster meeting as a teen (grades 9 and 12). Candidates must have also satisfied their teen financial responsibilities and be prepared to give a short speech discussing their plans, qualifications and intentions. The Teen President shall appoint a five member nominating committee at the February business meeting. Elections will be held at the April meeting. Nominations from the floor will be accepted and added to the official ballot following clearance from the nominating committee. Candidates must be present at the April meeting in order to run for office. Candidates must have completed all of the requirements noted above by March 30 th to be eligible to run for office. Section 3. Duties of Officers In addition to the duties listed below, teen officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the teen chapter. 2
President The President shall: Preside at all meetings and shall perform all other duties pertinent to the position Chair the executive board Appoint members and chairs of all standing committees Provide leadership, organization and support to all Teen Officers Hold responsibility for the overall coordination and execution of all the below activities Create the thrust and direction for the year and discuss items of interest and importance during the meetings Formulate the agenda for and preside over all of the teen meetings Work with the Mother s group and Regional Teen Officers as needed and Serve as the chapter representative/delegate to Teen Conference and other meetings as they occur. Vice President The Vice President shall: Preside at meetings in the absence of the President Assist the President and fill the position of President if that position should become vacant and remain President for the remainder of that term Serve as the alternate/delegate/representative to Teen Conference and other meetings as they occur Serve as delegate to meetings if the Teen President is unable to attend or if asked to attend by the Teen President Work closely with the Teen President to develop/update over the summer chapter teen handbook for distribution at the first business meeting Decide on community service activity by soliciting input from officers, teens and mothers (i.e. coat drive, children s shelter, etc. and Create a one-page fact sheet and discuss the projects at teen meeting Recording Secretary The Recording Secretary shall: Keep a proper record of all meetings of the teen organization and of the Executive Board Read minutes at each business meeting, and make corrections/additions as needed and Conduct roll call at every monthly business meeting o Distribute forms at the last meeting of the year to be completed and returned to the Recording Secretary at the close of the meeting. Forms should include: Name, address, email address and telephone number Name of school attending, as well as grade for upcoming year Committee interests for upcoming year Leadership interest (i.e. committee chair, appointed officer, etc. for upcoming year Corresponding Secretary The Corresponding Secretary shall: Handle all correspondence for the teen chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated 3
Keep an accurate record of teen membership, ages, dates of birth, and the teen mother s names, as required by Regional Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated Serve in the absence of the Recording Secretary and Compile and distribute the teen directory based on information contained in the completed forms collected and submitted by the Recording Secretary Financial Secretary The Financial Secretary shall: Collect all monies and shall pay the same immediately over to the Treasurer, taking his/her receipt for the same and Keep a record of all monies paid to the teen group Treasurer The Treasurer shall: Receive from the Financial Secretary all monies due to the teen organization and deliver said monies to the chapter treasurer Keep a proper set of financial books Report on account monthly to the general membership of the teen group Complete all required forms to be sent to Regional, National and Chapter Complete required forms for Teen Conference Keep accurate records of all income and expenses and submit a copy to the Teen Advisor and Chapter Treasurer on a monthly basis Prepare the budget with assistance from the Chapter Treasurer and Record and report the teen chapter contribution to Jack and Jill of America Foundation, Inc. Foundation Chair The Foundation Chair shall: Work closely with the Chapter Foundation Chair Keep teens abreast of Foundation issues Present list of charities for consideration by teen group and Engage the assistance/suggestions of teens Historian The Historian shall: Keep an annual record of the activities of the Teen Group, Washington, DC Chapter and Hold responsibility for storing these records at the end of the year and giving an annual report to the Mother s Group of the Chapter at their May Mother s meeting Parliamentarian The Parliamentarian shall: Advise the presiding officer on questions of parliamentary law and matters of procedure and Be familiar with Robert s Rules of Order the Rules of Parliamentary procedure ARTICLE VI OFFICER VANCIES 4
Officer vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the President with the approval of the Executive Board. The appointed officer shall complete the term of original office. The Executive Board with the approval of a majority of the teen advisors, can remove a teen from office if the duties of the office are not being performed. ARTICLE VI MEETINGS/ACTIVITIES Business meetings are held monthly from September to May. The meeting date, time, and location will be provided by the Teen President. The Teen President has the authority to call special meetings as needed to conduct the business of the teen chapter. Teen Executive Board meetings are to be held prior to the general membership meetings, at a time and place to be announced by the Teen President. Quorum shall be derived from a majority vote of the assembled members. Community service activities will be provided throughout the year. There will be one scheduled activity monthly (exclusive of community service and business meetings). ARTICLE VII EXECUTIVE BOARD The Teen Executive Board shall consist of the elected and appointed officers of the Teen Group. The standing committee chairperson are also considered to be members of the Executive Board. The President shall be the chairperson of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall recommend the creation or dissolution of special committees, call special meetings, appoint members to fill officer s vacancies, approve reports of the standing committees, and report on the status of the teen membership. The Executive Board shall meet one week prior to each regular meeting of the general teen membership. All fundraising activities, in which the public is involved must be recommended by the Executive Board, and approved by the active members and a majority of teen advisors. ARTICLE VIII CHARITIES 5
Teens shall contribute to the National Project a designated amount set by the budget committee and voted on by the active members. Teens shall also contribute annually to a local charity which will be designated by the local active teen members. A minimum of 1/3 rd of the proceeds raised in the name of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated, shall be designated for the Jack and Jill of America Foundation the remaining portion may be kept for the support of local charities. ARTICLE IX PARLIMENTARY AUTHORITY The rules contained in the current edition of Robert s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the teen group(s) in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the National Constitution and Bylaws, and any special rules of order the group may adopt. ARTICLE X AMENDMENT OF BY LAWS These by laws may be amended at anytime provided two thirds (2/3) of active members present vote in favor of said amendment and the notice of the proposed amendment has been given at the prior meeting. The said amendment must be approved by the teen Executive Board prior to presentation/vote by the general membership of the teen group. ARTICLE XI STANDING COMMITTEES The standing committee may include, but are limited to, the following: Executive, Budget and Finance, Community Service Planning, Foundation, Newsletter, Hospitality/New Member Orientation membership. Nominating, Bylaws/Constitution. The President shall appoint the members and chairs of these committees (except the executive). The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the nominating committee. The committee chairs of all standing committees shall present plans of work to the teen executive board for approval. All plans must also be approved by a majority of the chapter teen advisors. Duties of each committee: Membership committee shall maintain the membership roster, conduct voting on issues (with consultation/advisement of teen advisors) and announce the results. Budget/finance committee shall set the allocations of necessary monies for all operations of the teen chapter. All allocations must be approved by the Executive Board and by a majority of the teen advisors. 6
Community Service committee, with the assistance of the teen advisors, shall plan/organize community service activities for the Teen Chapter. Hospitality committee shall plan a welcoming reception for new teen members in September, send a birthday and other special event cards to members as needed, and shall coordinate refreshments for the monthly meetings. This involves contacting mothers to bring refreshments to meetings, as needed. New Member Orientation committee shall meet with new members and give them an orientation session as to what to expect as a member, discuss with new members their requirements to remain in good standing, and to coordinate activities to make a new member feel welcome to the group. Newsletter committee shall prepare a chapter teen newsletter at least three times during the activity year. The appointed editor shall be the chairperson of this committee. Foundation committee shall coordinate all activities within the teen group as they relate to the National Jack and Jill Foundation. The committee shall prepare the annual report to the Teen Conference as it relates to foundation. Nominating committee shall prepare a ballot for the annual elections. The committee shall present a slate of officers at the April business meeting. The committee shall receive names of teens who wish to run for office and determine if they are qualified (in consultation with teen advisors) by March 30 th. Any member of the nominating committee may be a candidate for offices as long as they meet the criteria for that office. Bylaws/Constitution committee shall establish the standing rules of the teen group and prepare changes to the bylaws to be presented to the Executive Board and membership. ARTICLE XII VOTING All active members in good standing are eligible to participate in the voting. Only bonafide members of the teen group of the Washington, DC Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated may vote in any matter that requires a vote. ARTICLE XIII CODE ETHICS All Jack and Jill teens must follow the teen s code of ethics as established by National/Regional/Chapter. Jack and Jill teens that break code of ethics will not be able to attend future Jack and Jill activities without the presence of their parent. 7
ARTICLE XIV SUPERVISION All teen activities shall be supervised by the number of chaperones required by National and Regional Jack and Jill regulations. Remember: BYLAWS CANNOT BE SUSPENDED --------------- Amended: May 5, 2012, Article X Amendment of Bylaws May 2, 2010, Article X Amendment of Bylaws Adopted/amended: 1999 8