Youth Committee: Operating Guidelines

To educate youth about the different facets of Jainism; to expose youth to Jainism for daily use and practice

Jain Unity:

To unite the youths as a unique identity and develop friendships; to prepare youths to be successful leaders of tomorrow

Social Service:

To assist and promote charitable community activities

Each year, the JSMW Youth Group will be required to host a minimum of one activity within each purpose. A list of activities is available via Attachment 1 of the Youth Committee Operating Guidelines.

Section 1. Regular membership requirements:

1. Between the ages of 13 and 19;
2. Members must have at least 1 parent / legal guardian that is a JSMW member. If not, they must make an additional $25 donation to JSMW.
3. With permanent residency in Metropolitan Washington area.

Section 2.

Alumni membership will be open to individuals between the ages of 20 and 24. Alumni members shall provide support and encouragement to Jain Youth Committee and actively participate in all activities. Alumni members shall not hold positions on the Executive Board and shall not have voting privileges.

Section 3.

Membership of an individual who has displayed conduct that compromises the mission and purpose of Jain Youth Committee may be canceled for as much as a 3 year period. Such action shall be effective upon a 3/5th vote of the Youth Executive Committee. If the individual in question is on the Youth Executive Committee, then he/she shall be ineligible to vote.

Section 1.

The Youth Executive Committee shall consist of Youth Chair, Vice Chair, Membership/Records Lead, Events Lead, and Public Relations Lead. The Youth Chair shall be starting at least their sophomore year in High School and other committee members shall be starting at least their freshman year of High School.

Section 2.

The Youth Committee shall have elections held annually, in August at a general body meeting of the youth members. Elected officers will take their posts promptly on September 1st. More than one person from a member family cannot be elected to the same position of the JYOC Executive Committee, including Chair and Vice-Chair. The same person cannot be elected to the Youth Executive Committee as well as the JSMW Executive Committee during the same election period. The Youth Committee elections shall be supervised by the JYOC Advisory Board. Individuals can be nominated or be self-nominated. The nominee shall be elected based on a simple majority of votes. Runoff elections shall be conducted in the case of a tie. Nominations will be submitted to the JYOC Advisory Board. Qualified members as per Article II shall vote for the Youth Executive Committee. The age requirement, membership fee, and donation requirement must be satisfied at the time of the election in order to vote.

 

Qualified members per Article II shall vote for the Youth Executive Committee. The age requirement, membership fee, and donation requirement must be satisfied at the time of the election in order to vote.

Section 3.

Any Youth Executive Committee member who fails to fulfill the terms of office or fails to serve in an agreed upon official capacity may be removed. Such action shall be effective only upon a 3/4th vote of the Youth Executive Committee. The member in question shall be ineligible to vote in these proceedings.

Section 1.

The Youth Chair shall be the official spokesperson of Jain Youth Committee. The Youth Chair shall promote the objectives of Jain Youth Committee and provide leadership and overall direction to the Youth Committee. The Youth Chair shall exemplify the ideals of Jainism and will act as a role model for other Jain youths to follow.

Specific duties include:

1. Presiding over all the meetings and voting in case of a tie;
2. Establishing activities for the year and coordinating specific goals and programs;
3. Serving as a liaison between Jain Youth Committee, Jain Society of Metropolitan Washington, attend JSMW Executive Committee meetings;
4. Appointing temporary committees required to carry out Youth Committee activities.

Section 2.

The Youth Vice-Chair shall assist the Youth Chair in the management and direction of the Youth Committee and shall assume the Youth Chair’s place in his/her absence.

Specific duties include:

1. Assisting the Youth Chair in performing his/her duties;
2. Organizing volunteers to work on community service projects;
3. Preparing an Annual Report of the year’s activities;
4. Attending all meetings of the youth committee.

Section 3.

The Membership/Records Lead shall maintain the records and membership roster of the Youth Committee.

Specific duties include:

1. Preparing a written report of all meetings and events for presentation at subsequent meetings;
2. Collecting all records from the other Youth Executive Committee at the end of the terms and prepare the Annual Report of the year’s activities;
3. Ensuring an up to date membership application is on file for each member;
4. Assisting adding more members;
5. Attending all meetings of the youth committee.

Section 4.

The Public Relations Lead shall conduct correspondence with the members and others, issue announcements of all activities, organize and carry out an active recruiting program, and encourage membership involvement in Youth Committee activities.

Specific duties include:

1. Organizing phone committees and/or online forums to remind members of upcoming events;
2. Preparing and forwarding all major announcements received from other Youth Executive Committee for publication in the JSMW Newsletter and/or Pathshala announcements;
3. Communicate with Young Jains of America and other youth groups;
4. Attending all meetings of the youth committee.

Section 5.

The Events Lead shall develop, recommend and implement events and programs for the organization.

Specific duties include:

1. Managing activity details and discussing nature of programming with the Youth Executive Committee and preparing a program calendar for the year;
2. Preparing a brief summary of major events with recommendations for improving future events;
3. Selecting the specific program sites and attending to the details of events;
4. Providing details of upcoming activities to the Public Relations Lead;
5. Attending all meetings of the youth committee.

Section 1.

The Advisory Board shall consist of exactly two Advisers. The Adviser may be from the JSMW EC board, BoT, or a General Body member, but both will be appointed by the EC within 1 month of the Youth Group elections.

Specific duties include:

1. Reviewing minutes from all events;
2. Ensuring activities align with Article 1;
3. Provide guidance for activities being planned;
4. Communicate with EC on health and status of Youth Group.

Section 1.

Any JYOC member, JSMW EC member, or JYOC Youth Advisor may propose an amendment by emailing JYOC the proposal or providing it in writing.

After receiving a proposal, an amendment to these Operating Guidelines may be ratified by these steps, in this order:

1. JYOC Executive Committee comes to consensus in favor of the proposal

2. JYOC Youth Advisors both agree to the proposal

3. A majority of the JYOC general body agrees to the proposal

4. A majority of the JSMW Executive Committee agrees to the proposal

If any of the above parties disagree with the proposal or are not in favor of the amendment, the process will end and the amendment will not be ratified.

 

Section 2.

The Operating Guidelines shall constitute the operating basis for the Jain Youth Committee.

Section 3.

The JYOC Executive Committee can call a general body meeting during any JYOC event, open to all regular members.

 

Section 1.

If the Advisory Board and/or JSMW Executive Committee conclude that the Youth Group is not fulfilling the purpose identified in Article I, they may vote to terminate the Youth Group with a 2/3rd majority vote.

Attachment 1

Below is a list of activities that the JSMW Youth Group will be required to host a minimum of one activity within each purpose of the Youth Committee Operating Guidelines listed above:

Jain Awareness

1. Intra-pathsala JAB
2. Navakar Jaap
3. Arrange local speakers to come and present to JSMW Youth
4. Present about Jainism to local high school or colleges
5. Add a “Youth Corner” to the JSMW publication

Jain Unity

1. Temple sleep-in/lock-in
2. Ice Skating
3. Bowling
4. Game night
5. Movie night
6. Six flags/ King’s Dominion trip
7. Youth choir (like the new adult choir that was formed in JSMW)
8. Youth theater/skits/plays/dramas
9. Youth Jain-related discussion and swadhyay groups
10. Introduce new kids to pathshala/youth group from our high schools and middle schools that may not come to temple
11. Garba/cultural night
12. Runathon/Walkathon

Social/Temple Service

1. DC Kitchen
2. DC VegFest
3. Pathsala lunch cleanup/serving/setup crew
4. Hygiene kit drive
5. Temple clean up
6. Bake sales and game tournaments to raise money for new temple
7. Essay writing workshop- older youth help younger youth with college essays, SAT essays, etc.
8. Youth tutoring programs- older youth tutor younger youth
9. Serving paryushan meals
10. Volunteer at senior center
11. Habitat for humanity (in the summer)
12. Canned food drive
13. Clothes drive
14. Book donation/drive/exchange