Charter of Teen-Aid, Inc.

Article I

The purpose of this corporation is to encourage premarital abstinence as a life-style among teens and foster virtuous character development. This is accomplished by promoting effective parent-teen communication, increasing fertility awareness and respect for the power to create life, and embracing the standard of parenting within wedlock thereby reducing the many adverse consequences (physical, emotional and social) of premarital sexual activity.

Article II

The principles guiding the activities of this organization are:

That the individual, family and society are best served when the power to create life is exercised in the context of marriage;
That human life is of supreme value and exists from the moment of fertilization;
That the promotion of contraceptive use among teens, as well as marketing of sex by the media, has contributed to an increase in sexual activity among adolescents;
That the abortion rate has paralleled the increase in sexual activity and that both teenage sexual activity and abortion create adverse public health consequences;
That there are numerous psycho-social and physical health benefits resulting from adolescent avoidance of sexual activity; among these are:
Avoidance of possible complications from contraceptive methods; and
increasing probability of achieving long-range goals and establish mature, lasting relationships and achieving economic self-sufficiency;
Freedom from out-of-wedlock pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
That information concerning the advantages of abstinence as a premarital lifestyle must be made available to teens;
That primary responsibility rests with parents to convey information and values about human sexuality to youth or children;
That school curricula dealing with human sexuality should increase the understanding of fertility and respect for the power to create life, and should be supportive of values that strengthen marriage and the family;
That youth who are seeking a moral framework for their sexuality need adult role models willing to counsel in favor of premarital abstinence;
That communication between parents and youth should be encouraged, and that giving contraceptives to teens without parental involvement threatens the parent-child relationship;
That premarital sexual activity among teens is contrary to life goals consistent with the continuation of the family as the primary unit of our society, and that abstinence provides the emotional and social stability to allow the development of the finer and higher qualities of life;
That the character quality of self-control is necessary to successfully postpone sexual activity, and the development of virtuous character including self-control is essential to build strong individuals as future members of stable families;

Article III

The policies of Teen-Aid shall be:

To carry out all Teen-Aid activities with adherence to the guiding principles of the organization;
To avoid discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, or national origin;
To refrain at all times from referring for any reason to agencies providing or referring medical or surgical abortion;
To keep all services strictly confidential;
To limit engaging in lobbying or political activities to the extent required by applicable state or federal law;
To provide information on contraceptive methods only in response to questions regarding hazards and risks, and to clearly distinguish between contraceptives and abortifacents;
To charge for Teen-Aid services on a graduated scale which reflects the client’s ability to pay;
To refer clients with needs beyond the scope of Teen-Aid services to appropriate professionals that support Teen-Aid principles; and
To encourage in all of Teen-Aid services, effective communication between parents and teens and virtuous character development.

By-laws of Teen-Aid, Inc.

Article I

Purpose: The purpose of this corporation is to encourage premarital abstinence as a life-style among teens and foster virtuous character development. This is accomplished by promoting effective parent-teen communication, increasing fertility awareness and respect for the power to create life, and embracing the standard of parenting within wedlock thereby reducing the many adverse consequences (physical, emotional and social) of premarital sexual activity.

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Article II

Policies: The policies of this corporation shall be:

To carry out all Teen-Aid activities with adherence to the guiding principles of the organization;

To be nonsectarian in every facet of the Teen-Aid organization;

To refrain at all times from referring for pregnancy testing to agencies advocating induced medical or surgical abortion;

To refrain at all times from referring clients who request abortion to a providing agency;

To keep in strictest confidence all client communication and to genuinely and actively promote parental assistance;

To limit engaging in lobbying or political activities to the extent required by applicable state or federal law;

To provide information on contraceptive methods only in response to questions regarding hazards and risks, and to clearly distinguish between contraceptive and abortifacients;

To offer Teen-Aid services based on the client’s ability to pay;

To refer clients with needs beyond the scope of Teen-Aid to appropriate professional services that support principles consistent with those of Teen-Aid;

To encourage virtuous character in all of Teen-Aid services, and to promote effective communication between parents and teens.

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Article III

Office: The principal office is 723 E. Jackson, Spokane, Washington 99207. The principal office may be changed from time to time at the direction of the Board of Directors.

Article IV

Board of Directors:

Authority for Teen-Aid policy will be vested exclusively in the Board of Directors

The Board of Directors shall consist of no more than eleven (11) and no less than five (5) Directors.

The Board of Directors will designate its own Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary, each of whom will serve staggered two-year terms of office.

The duties of the Board of Directors shall be:

To maintain clarity in Teen-Aid’s philosophy, assuring that it is accurately reflected in all Teen-Aid materials, and especially in curricula and operating policy;

To approve the budget;

To ensure the sufficiency and accuracy of legal documents;

To elect the Executive Director and other administrative officers of Teen-Aid as may be necessary;

To elect members of the Board of Directors; and

To have final authority in all matters concerning Teen-Aid.

Should a Board member wish to resign, he should submit his resignation in writing to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Meetings of the Board of Directors will be held no less than once every four (4) months unless waived in advance by the Board of Directors. Special meetings of the Board may be called on no less than five (5) days’ notice. Board members’ attendance at all meetings of the Board of Directors shall be mandatory. Advance notice of a Board Members’ inability to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors shall be given to the Chairman.

A quorum of the Board of Directors shall be composed of fifty percent (50%) of the total membership of the Board plus one (1).

An affirmative vote of no less than two-thirds (2/3) of the Board of Directors shall be required for appointment of administrative officers. A simple majority of a quorum shall be sufficient to dispose of other questions. Administrative officers of the Board shall be elected for terms of not more than one (1) year.

The fiscal year for the corporation shall begin on September 1st of each year, and the annual meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held in September of each year.

10.New Directors shall be elected by the Board of Directors. Any candidate for Director shall have served no less than one year as a member of the corporation and/or a member of one of the committees of the corporation.

11.The Executive Director of the corporation shall be a voting member of the Board of Directors.

12.The Chairman of the Board of Directors shall schedule meetings thereof, and the Executive Director of the corporation shall attend such meetings, provided that the Executive Director may be excused when matters relating to the employment of the Executive Director are to be discussed. Chairpersons of committees of the corporation may be invited to attend and report to the Board of Directors.

13.Each member of the Board of Directors will be expected to attend meetings of the membership of the corporation and committee meetings as appropriate, and will be expected to support the corporation financially and/or assist in raising financial support and sharing professional expertise.

14.Members of the Board of Directors will serve for terms of two (2) years, with an option to serve for an additional term of like duration. Members of the Board rotating off the Board may assume responsibilities on committees of the corporation or become members of the Advisory Board.

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Article V

Advisory Board: The Corporation shall maintain an Advisory Board, which will include former members of the Board of Directors. Advisory Board members may attend meetings of the Board of Directors and/or meetings of any committees of the corporation, provided such Advisory Board members shall attend in non-voting capacity. Members of the Advisory Board may nominate or be nominated to serve on committees of the corporation or on the Board of Directors.

Article VI

Membership:

The membership of the corporation shall consist of no more than fifty (50), Nor less than thirty (30) persons. Reasonable efforts shall be exerted to incorporate persons of diverse backgrounds. Members will agree and be expected to serve on committees of the corporation. Nominations for membership shall be made by the Executive Director or members of the current Board of Directors.
The duly elected Chair of the membership shall conduct meetings of the membership not less than monthly. Following such monthly meetings, committees of the corporation may meet as deemed reasonably necessary. The Executive Director of the corporation will attend and be available to such meetings as reasonably possible.
Chairpersons of committees shall attend meetings of the membership and report. The Executive Director of the corporation shall be an ex officio member of the corporation.

The Board of Directors will duly elect the chairman, treasurer, secretary and committee chairpersons. Such officers will serve two (2) year terms of office, which terms shall be staggered among the various offices.

The membership of the corporation will assume responsibility for the following:

To decide upon and organize community projects and events designed to raise public awareness of Teen-Aid and its objectives;

To oversee the functions of committees of the corporation.

To support and implement in the membership and committee activity the policies of Teen-Aid, which are formulated by the Board of Directors.

In the event a member of the corporation wishes to resign from the corporation, such resignation must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the membership.

Members are required to attend meetings of the membership of the corporation. Members unable to attend a meeting must provide notice in advance of such absence to the Chair of the membership.

A quorum of the membership of the corporation shall consist of no less than fifty percent (50%) of the membership plus one (1) member.
A person may be elected a member of the corporation by majority vote of the Board of Directors. Names of prospective members may be submitted to the Board by nomination by any member, or by any Director. Members will serve for two (2) year terms, which term may be renewed for a period of like duration.
It shall be the responsibility of members of the corporation to:
Attend the meetings of the membership and/or meetings of their committees;

Be involved in supporting and assisting in fund raising activities on behalf of the corporation;

Donate professional expertise for the good of the Corporation.

Removal of a member from the corporation will not take place except on an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds (2/3) of all the members.

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Article VII

Committees: There shall be committees of the corporation, which may be composed of members, non-members, and former members of the corporation. Each of the committees shall have not less than one (1) Director serving on the committee.

The committees of the corporation shall be as follows:

Fund Raising: The fund raising committee will be responsible for all fund raising activities on behalf of the corporation. In addition, the fund raising committee will assume responsibility for the following:

To originate ideas for fund raising events, which events will be designed to raise funds for the continued operation of the corporation, and to heighten public awareness of the work, goals and philosophy of Teen-Aid.

To assume responsibility for communication with supporters of Teen-Aid by means of letters, brochures, or other devices. Any material proposed to be sent by the fund raising committee must be approved by the Executive Director or the Board of Directors.

To develop and implement marketing ideas designed to reach new and different purchasers of the materials developed and published by Teen-Aid.

To pursue corporate donations from businesses, corporations and/or foundations.

Physical Plant: The physical plant committee shall be generally responsible for the physical property, whether real or personal, owned by the corporation. The physical plant committee shall also assume the following responsibilities:

To reasonably care for and arrange for building maintenance, which maintenance may be performed both by members of the committee and volunteers, or, if necessary, by qualified professionals as may be reasonably necessary.

To evaluate ideas for improving the physical plant which involve a cost of $50.00 or more, which ideas may come from any source.

To oversee the necessary maintenance of equipment, including finding qualified professionals to assist therein.

To evaluate and research suggestions with respect to equipment acquisition and new technology that will assist the corporation and its staff in performing the work of the corporation.

Community Outreach: The community outreach committee will generally be responsible for communicating the mission and message of Teen-Aid within the community. In addition, the community outreach committee will assume responsibility for the following:

To increase the visibility of Teen-Aid in the community by any reasonable method deemed appropriate by the committee. Such methods will include, but not be limited to, pursuing members from diverse backgrounds, occupations, life experiences, racial, ethnic origins, and affiliations.

To maintain a speaker’s bureau with individuals capable of and willing to speak to churches, service clubs, youth related events, and other appropriate gatherings. Any materials used by such speakers must be previewed and approved in advance by the Board of Directors or the Executive Director of the corporation.

To represent Teen-Aid on local committees of the community, which may include health, youth and business associations.

To recruit volunteers through speaking events or other personal contacts, and to develop and maintain a policy and guideline handbook for speakers and volunteers.

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Article VIII

Staff: The Corporation shall maintain paid staff as follows:

There shall be an Executive Director of the corporation who shall have final administrative authority over the corporation, and who shall serve under the Board of Directors. The Executive Director shall be appointed or dismissed on a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the entire membership of the Board of Directors.

The corporation shall employ such staff as may be deemed reasonably necessary by the Executive Director in consultation with the Board of Directors. Other officers of the corporation may be appointed from time to time by the Board of Directors with compensation, if any, set by the Board of Directors.

The Executive Director shall be the official spokesman for Teen-Aid and shall oversee, coordinate, and direct daily operations of the corporation. The Executive Director shall be an ex officio member of all committees of the corporation, and shall be responsible to communicate with the Board of Directors concerning all activities of the corporation.

The Executive Director shall have authority to hire staff and to manage the recruiting and training of volunteers, at all times guarding and preserving the policy established by the Board of Directors. Job descriptions and staff responsibilities shall be developed by the Executive Director in a manner consistent with the policies established by the Board of Directors. The Executive Director shall have full authority to hire, dismiss, discipline, and otherwise supervise staff and volunteers of the corporation.

In the absence of the Executive Director, the chairman of the Board of Directors will designate an acting director, which person shall be appointed with the approval of a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the Board of Directors.

Article IX

Amendments: These Bylaws may be amended by a majority of a quorum of the Directors present at a meeting of the Directors, provided there has been notice of the proposed amendment submitted to each Board member not less than one (1) month prior to the meeting wherein the proposed amendment was so approved.

Article X

Dissolution: In the event of dissolution of the corporation, the assets of the corporation will be distributed in compliance with the Articles of Incorporation.

Article XI

Roberts’ Rules of Order: In the event that any question arises as to the procedure of the Board of Directors and/or the membership of the corporation, the governing rules shall be as expressed in Roberts’ Rules of Order.

These Bylaws of Teen-Aid, Inc. are hereby adopted as amended herein this 21st day of April, 1999.

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