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Constitution of the Al-Noor Girls Group
1. Name. The name of the Group will be the Al-Noor Girls Group, hereafter referred to as ‘the group’. 2. Aims and Objectives. The aims of the group are build positive relationships between, and increase the self esteem of, girls and young women aged 11 and over from ethnic and other minority groups. Many girls and young women from these backgrounds are restricted by cultural and religious norms and are thus prevented from taking part in mainstream activities associated with young people. This may result in them feeling alienated either from the society in which they are currently living or from their cultural background, or both, resulting in confusion, loss of identity and conflict within families. In order to alleviate this dichotomy, the group aims to provide a culturally and religiously safe environment in which the participants can enjoy sporting, social and creative activities that will serve as a vehicle to both enhance mutual understanding and to help them to assimilate contemporary ideas with their cultural and religious heritage. 3. Membership. Membership of the group is open to all girls aged 11years and above, regardless of social, religious or ethnic background. However, since the environment is one in which great care will be taken to avoid offence to participants’ cultural and religious backgrounds, all participants will be asked to agree to the rules of the group. (See 4. below.) Membership is also dependant on the paying of a subscription each time a member attends a session, the amount of which is decided through the consensus of the group as a whole. Every reasonable attempt will be made to facilitate the attendance of any girl or young woman who wishes to attend, including the provision of transportation and discussion with parents who may need reassurances about the aims and the environment of the group. 4. Rules of the group. i. Respect for each others differences. ii. Respect for the safety of the group, which means keeping everyone’s confidences and not talking about others outside the group. iii. Respect for the religious and cultural ‘rules’ of all members, such as no smoking or drinking alcohol. iv. Respect for all members, regardless of age, appearance, background and ability. 5. Management and volunteer structure. There will be an overall coordinator/consultant for the project to whom the volunteers may address any issues or questions concerning good practise and organisation of the group. There will be a pool of volunteers who will attend each scheduled session on a rota basis. All volunteers must attend at least once a month, failing which their name will be removed from the pool. There will be a minimum of three volunteers present at each session preferably more. Should the rota’d volunteer be unable to fulfil her allocated session, it is entirely her responsibility to approach other volunteers on the list to ensure the session is covered. It is the responsibility of the named volunteer team for each session to ensure that required resources are available and that suitable preparation has taken place. 6. Structure and content of the sessions. The group will normally meet on a weekly basis for two and a half hours. The programme of activities is to be constructed in full consultation and agreement with all participants of the group. The session will usually begin with a sporting or more energetic activity, such as football, karate demonstration etc, followed by a cooling down period during which a short group discussion will be facilitated on topic relevant to the participants, such as portrayal of women from ethnic minority and religious groups in a current media article, the relevance of cultural or religious festivals etc. The second half of the session will usually consist of a more creative or calm activity, such as a craft activity, board games, quizzes etc. 7. Communication All volunteers agree to release their contact details to others in the volunteer pool and consent to being telephoned as and when necessary. All participants must fill in a membership form which includes a telephone number and email address if possible. News and updates on the activities of the group will be posted on www.cambridgemuslims.info, until such time as the group builds its own site. Regular recruitment will take place in conjunction with the multi-cultural advisors at the city’s secondary schools, as well as through liaison with already established ethnic community and educational groups, and mainstream youth provision. 8. Finance. A bank account will be opened at Barclays bank in the name of the Al-Noor Girls Group for which there will be two signatures. All moneys raised through the collection of subscriptions, fundraising events, donations and grants will be spent in support of the aims of the group. Annual accounts will be produced in April of each year by one of the signatures or by the treasurer, who may be the same person. 9. Dissolution. Should the number of volunteers or participants fall to a number that makes the continuation of the group unviable, all funds in the group’s bank account will be held for a period of one calendar year, pending renewed demand. Should no such demand arise, the coordinator and treasurer will have the authority to allocate any funds remaining to any charity that benefits girls and young women from minority backgrounds. |
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