Organizational Constitution

Name:                          The name of the organization shall be known as Adopt-A-Heart

Purpose:                       The purpose of this organization is to award a financial donation of

                                    set amount to a critically ill candidate who is affiliated with a Sam

                                    Houston State University Student, while gathering awareness about

                                    the illness and alerting others.

Membership:                Membership is based on a volunteer basis. It is open to all Sam

Houston State University who want to participate.  Dues will be $5.00 in the fall, covering 1 year of membership dues.  Dues will be $2.50 for members that join in the Spring.  All members will pay again in the Fall semester.

Meetings:                      Meetings shall be held every Tuesday at 5:30.

Executive board meets every 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday directly following general body meetings.

Officers

President:                     Shall preside over meetings and organization, checks all e-board

reports, primary liaison for Adopt-A-Heart (AAH), check organizational mailbox and e-mails, update calendar and provide members with agendas for body meetings.

Vice President:             Assists the President, oversees committees, assume presidential responsibilities in lieu of Presidential absence or inability to attend meeting, secondary liaison.

Treasurer:                     The Treasurer is responsible for all monies (deposits

included), keeps balanced books, keeps body informed of financial standings at least bi-monthly, work with fundraising chair, keeps an accurate list of paid members by semester (President and Vice President should have a copy)

Secretary :                    Responsible for taking minutes at all meetings, responsible for obtaining copies of the minutes to be distributed at every meeting, writes the correspondence of the organization, assisting with newsletter (with public relations and membership chair),compiles an accurate roster of members.

Assistant Secretary:      All responsibilities will be the same as the secretary.  (This post will be appointed by the Executive Board.)

Historian:                      Takes pictures at meetings and other organizational/outside events                                             for physical reference or record keeping, maintains the web-page                                        and updates , responsible for making a scrap book, Custodian of                                           guestbook, Keeping an accurate history of Adopt- A- Heart’s year,

present a fact each week of Adopt-A-Heart history and/or illness awareness to the body at the body meetings

Support Service Chair  (Reports to Vice President)

Responsible for programs (Illness Awareness)

Responsible for support gifts for the candidate throughout the year

Thank you to supporters and sponsors

Checking on candidate and reporting back to the body with updates on the candidate

Correspondence Chair  (Reports to Vice President)

Responsible for writing and/or supervising letters to companies for sponsorship

Keep a detailed file of all incoming and out-coming correspondence

Report fact findings to the body

Utilizes a mandatory committee for assistance

End of the Year (EOY)  (Reports to Vice President)

Facilitate the organization and implementation of the end of the year awards banquet

Utilizes a committee for assistance

Facilitates the raising of funds to implement the banquet

Public Relations Chair  (Reports to President)

Facilitate the publicizing of meetings and organizational events

Create E-newsletters to post on the Adopt-A-Heart website once a month a minimum, flyers and other forms of media for promotional purposes

Work with the secretary and the membership chair on newsletters and other related services to the organization

Membership Chair  (Reports to Vice President)

Responsible for the recruitment and retention of members

Responsible for bringing new and exciting ice breakers to the body

Utilizes a committee for assistance

Responsible for organizational membership socials

Tracks attendance

Responsible for membership cards

Fundraising Chair  (Reports to Vice President)

Coordinate all fundraisers

Keep a file/record on every fundraiser implemented

Utilizes a committee for assistance

Keep the body informed of fundraisers

Sergeant-At-Arms  (Reports to Vice President)

Handles collection of fines

Will distribute and collect ballots during voting  (appointed by Executive Board)

Officer Accountability: 

The Adopt-A-Heart Executive Board makes important decisions that shape the future of the organization, and whether or not the goals set for the academic year are met.  Therefore, the Adopt-A-Heart Executive Board is required to be in every meeting.  The Executive Board will also be placed on a point system for the length of their term (one academic year).  Points will be deducted based on absences and/or tardiness from mandatory meetings.  The Executive Board will also have a noise making (i.e. cellular phone) fine of $1.00 during body meetings.  The Executive Board holds the right to begin the process of replacement of an Executive Board member when that member has accumulated a total of 35 points.  When that Board member has reached 50 points, the Executive Board member is then relieved from their position, and replaced with the designated replacement. 

Candidate Process:

Time Span:                   The organization will run for the academic year. The members will choose one candidate per academic year.

Organization Goals:      

Establish Fundraising Goals

                                    Coordinate community service events in conjunction with that

                                    particular candidate and his/her situation

                                    Raise awareness within the Sam Houston and Huntsville

                                    communities

Choosing a Candidate:

The person nominated must be a Sam Houston State University student, or affiliated with a SHSU Student either by family relation or close ties. That person must also have a verifiable critical illness, which would establish a need for assistance.

The Selection Process:

A current SHSU Student will complete an Adopt-A-Heart candidate nomination application as well as write a 300-500 word essay explaining why we should choose his or her candidate. The essay should specify which illness the candidate has and include any important information about the candidate’s situation.  Any essays exceeding the specified word count of 300-500 words or submitted after the specified deadline will not be considered.  Essays can be submitted before the start of or after the close of  Adopt-A-Heart general body meetings to the Correspondence Chair only. 

                                    The Adopt-A-Heart Executive Board will then narrow the essays

                                    down to three choices and bring them before the body for a vote.

Membership Responsibilities:

All members of Adopt-A-Heart should be in attendance at all meetings.  Meetings will last for approximately 1 hour and will be held every Tuesday, unless otherwise instructed.  Members should not have noise making devises during meeting times (i.e. cellular telephones, etc.)  Should a noise making devise disturb the meeting, the member will be subject to a cell phone fine.  The fine would be $0.50.  The monies made from the fine would be placed into the ‘Change of Heart’ jar, and subsequently spent on fundraising activities.  All members will be issued membership cards, which will be required to be shown for special membership privileges (i.e. voting, entrance in to functions, etc.)  Members should be able to furnish the card with prior notice.

Voting:

Elections for Adopt-A-Heart Executive Board are held every Spring semester.  To participate in elections, members must have paid dues two weeks prior to elections.  To run for an office, members would have to have at least one semester of paid membership in Adopt-A-Heart.  Members must also bring their membership cards to be eligible to vote.  Notice to bring membership cards will be issued at least one week in advance to the voting procedures. 

University Registration/ Recognition:

At the beginning of each Fall and Spring semester, this organization shall submit an update report with the names and addresses of its officers and advisor (s). This report shall be summated to the Student Activities Offices (Suite 328 of the Lowman Student Center) no later than the twelfth class day. Changes in officers that occur during the semester must be reported promptly. If this organization fails to abide by this policy, this organization must resubmit the “Student Organization Registration Application” to the Student Activities Office and subsequently go before the Student Organizations’ Board for the consideration to once again become an officially recognized organization.

Amendments:                1. This constitution shall be amended by 75 percent vote of the

                                    active membership.

                                    2. A copy of all constitutional changes and amendments will be

                                    submitted to the Student Activities Office as described above.