Best Buddies of Taft College

Best Buddies Constitution

• Article I – Name
  The organization’s official name is the Best Buddies.
• Article II – Mission
  Our mission is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs).
• Article III – Membership

  Section One
  Membership in “Best Buddies” is open to all Taft College students in good standing with Taft College (2.0 GPA or better) without regard to race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or politics.

  Section Two
  Students wishing to join “Best Buddies” need to contact the college Chapter President, or Advisor, and complete a membership application. Once your application is completed the Chapter President will begin the matching process and facilitate the beginning of your one-to-one friendship.

• Article IV – Officers

  Section One
  Chapter Officers:

  • Chapter President
  • Activities Director
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer

  Section Two
  Chapter Officers Descriptions and Information

  1. Chapter President– oversees chapter activities, facilitates friendship matches, provides leadership to other officers, facilitates Best Buddies chapter meetings, completes necessary chapter paperwork and reports, maintains regular contact with the Club Advisor and Host Site Coordinator.
     
     Chapter President also attends the Best Buddies International Leadership Conference typically held during the summer. This conference provides additional leadership training opportunities, fundraising ideas, facilitates college buddy director friendships, encourages networking, and educates the college buddy director about necessary chapter activities, meetings, fundraising, reports, and paperwork.
     
     
  2. Activities Director– coordinates with the Chapter President to plan, facilitate, and implement chapter activities and fundraising endeavors.
  3. Secretary– provides organizational support to other officers, records and keeps accurate meeting records, assists chapter officers in implementing chapter activities and fundraiser endeavors.
  4. Treasurer– prepares and maintains the chapter’s budget, coordinates with the activities director to ensure chapter activities are funded, assists the Buddy Director with financial reports, and provides adequate records to the Secretary.

  Section Three
  All interested potential officers need to complete a Best Buddies Officer Application and undergo an interview. The best applicant will be selected from the interviews conducted.

• Article V – Meetings

  Section One
  There will be an Organizational Meeting at the beginning of each semester. The General Membership will have one meeting per month. In addition, the club is required to organize monthly social events over the course of the academic year.

  1. Organizational Meeting: these are mandatory for all club members.
  2. General Membership Meeting: To keep in good standing, members missing two general meetings are required to notify the Secretary before the second meeting.
  3. Club Outings: Best Buddies outings are a time for the members to get together for a social activity. Members are encouraged to invite friends. Whether the activity is recreational, cultural, or educational, group participation and interaction is always emphasized.
• Article VI – Committees

  The Chapter President, and in some cases the Advisor(s) shall appoint committees and recruit volunteers to serve on them as needed.

• Article VII: Dismissal of Members

  If a member does not fulfill the requirements of membership and commitment to the chapter, the chapter president will do the following:

  1. The leadership team will investigate the situation and review membership records in BB360
  2. After gathering all necessary information, the chapter president, secretary and/or chapter advisor(s) will approach the individual in question to address the situation
  3. Based on the outcome of the conversation, the chapter leadership will develop an action plan to support the member

  In the event the member in question fails to meet the requirements of the chapter, the member may be dismissed from the chapter. Notification of this decision should be communicated directly with the member and tracked in the membership record on BB360.

  The chapter is not required to rematch a member if the match has been dissolved; however, if a friendship is dissolved and the remaining member would like to be matched again, every effort will be made to rematch this individual in another friendship match during the academic year.

• Article VIII – Parliamentary Authority

  All official administrative and organizational policies are to be in accordance with Taft College guidelines for campus organizations and clubs.

• Article IX – Amendments to the Constitution

  All amendments will be approved and authorized by the “Best Buddies” Officers and Advisor (s) with the vote of the general membership.