ALLEGANY COUNTYOUTREACH

CONSTITUTION

Preamble

I. Name

The name of the organization shall be Allegany County Outreach.

II. Purpose

The purpose of Allegany County Outreach is to share the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. Towards the attainment of this goal, the students of HoughtonCollege will establish and maintain bonds of friendship with the residents of AlleganyCounty.

Specifically, the organization will sponsor a Big “Brother”/Big “Sister” Program designed to bring about relationships between HoughtonCollege students and the children of AlleganyCounty. This program will include group events and parties as well as one-on-one involvement of students with their little “brothers” and “sisters.” There will be efforts to make college facilities and cultural events available to the children of AlleganyCounty, e.g., through invitations to the children to dine on campus or attend games, plays, religious programs, etc. with students.

Allegany County Outreach also has the long-range purpose of instituting additional programs with the intent of blessing the residents of AlleganyCounty; these might include food and clothes distribution programs and a family counseling service. Allegany County Outreach might also serve by providing a context within which members of the (non-student) population of Houghton might become involved in the effort to show Christ’s love to the larger Allegany community.

III. Statement of Faith

The statement of faith of Allegany County Outreach shall be the Apostle's Creed:

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ,

His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell;

the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the

right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick

and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the Holy Christian Church, the communion of

saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen

Article 1: ORGANIZATION

Section 1: Membership

This organization shall consist of such persons as adhere to the statement of

faith and who are in accord with the purpose of this organization, desiring

to commit themselves to the accomplishment of said purpose.

Section 2: Executive Officers

Clause 1: The executive cabinet of this organization shall consist of the

offices of president, vice-president, secretary, correspondence secretary,

treasurer, chaplain, party coordinator and transport person.

Clause 2: Persons serving on the executive cabinet shall be members of the

sophomore, junior, or senior classes and shall have been a member of

Allegany County Outreach for at least one year.

Clause 3: Persons filling the positions on the executive cabinet shall be

appointed in April by the present executive cabinet. Appointments are

subject to a two-thirds majority vote of approval of the organization present

at a general membership meeting to be held in April. At that time, should

any appointment be considered unsatisfactory to the organization, the floor

will be opened for nominations to the office in question. The voting shall

then take place at a general meeting. (Nominees must fill out an application;

the general cabinet may be notified by email about this process.)

Clause 4: Duties of the executive officers:

1. President

  1. To be in charge of the ACO Cabinet meetings and in addition to

have responsibility for setting an agenda.

  1. To represent the group, e.g., in relations with the public, in chapel,

etc.

  1. To oversee establishment, maintenance and co-ordination of all of the activities of the organization.
  2. To have responsibility for the publication once a semester of a newsletter consisting of organizational information of interest to the public.
  1. Vice-President

a. To assist the president

b. To train for the presidency (which he/she will assume the

following year)

3. Secretary

a. To maintain a file of all persons currently enrolled in, or affiliated

with, HoughtonCollege who have been involved as chairmen,

workers, entertainers or proctors for any party; to collect all

information pertinent to organizational records and to file such

information with the secretary.

b. To maintain a file of all current HoughtonCollege students who

serve as big “brothers” or “sisters".

c. To be responsible for taking minutes at each meeting.

4. Correspondence Secretary

  1. To be responsible for the circulation to the public of information regarding all activities of the organization; This includes notes to parents of little “brothers” and “sisters.”
  2. To be responsible for the distribution of party information sheets to each student involved in a party.
  1. To be in charge of announcements, e.g., on bulletin boards.

5. Treasurer

  1. To be responsible for keeping financial records.
  2. To distribute money.
  3. To be in charge of petty cash.

6. Chaplain

  1. To be responsible for the publication of a prayer letter no less than twice each semester, the purpose of which shall be to communicate the needs of particular family(s).
  2. To be in charge of matching college students who shall act as big “brothers and sisters" to AlleganyCounty children.

7. Party Coordinator

a. To be responsible for the establishment of parties once a month

for members of ACO; The previous cabinet will schedule times for all parties and place them into the Day Planner put out by HoughtonCollege for the following year.

8. Transport Person

a. To be responsible for organizing and providing transportation for County children to all parties.

b. To be responsible for providing transportation to students

involved in visitation who have a need for it.

c. To maintain a file of maps for each big brother and sister to find their families location in the County.

Section 3: General Cabinet

Clause 1: The general cabinet of the organization shall consist of the

executive cabinet, ACO helpers, big “brothers,” and big “sisters.”

Clause 2: Members of the general cabinet shall be appointed by the

executive cabinet, and shall be chosen no later than the first meeting of

October, of the executive cabinet of each new year.

Section 4: Faculty Advisor

Clause 1: The faculty advisor shall be nominated by the executive cabinet

in April and approved by the director of Student Life.

Clause 2: The faculty advisor shall be a non-voting member of the

executive cabinet and attend at least one party a semester.

Article 2: MEETINGS AND VACANCIES

Section 1: The executive cabinet shall meet each week. Special meetings may be called

by the president. The newly appointed executive cabinet shall meet at least

once in April for the purpose of organization. All executive cabinet

members must fulfill at least one office hour a week.

Section 2: The general cabinet shall meet once a month for a party.

Section 3: In the event of the vacancy of the office of president, the vice-president

shall assume the duties of the president. In the event of the vacancy of any

office other than that of the president, the executive cabinet shall appoint a

successor.

Article 3: AMENDMENTS

The constitution may be amended by a three-fourths vote of the organization

present at an executive cabinet meeting.

Article 4: BY-LAWS

The organization may establish such by-laws as are necessary for the execution of

this constitution.