1. Huddersfield Repair Cafe Constitution
1.1. Huddersfield Repair Café (HRC) is an unincorporated, not for profit organisation operated by volunteers drawn from within the local community.
1.2. The constitution was adopted by a HRC general meeting of its Members on 16th July 2023
2. Aims
HRC aims are:
2.1. To provide social, environmental and educational benefits to the local community by providing a safe and welcoming cafe style environment where together volunteers and visitors can repair personal items/devices that would otherwise be discarded or replaced.
2.2. To support the local community in reducing the number of items sent to disposal and recycling by encouraging repair and reuse.
2.3. To support the objectives and reflect the Ethos of Repair Café ( https://www.repaircafe.org/en ) and be part of the international movement for Repair Café.
3. Objectives
HRC will seek to achieve its aims by:
3.1. Running and supporting regular Repair Café Events within Huddersfield and the surrounding areas.
3.2. Securing, from within the local community and elsewhere volunteers, with appropriate skills to help run the Repair Café events.
3.3. Ensuring both volunteers and other supporters feel valued in their involvement and support of HRC.
3.4. Fostering and encouraging the transfer of skills and knowledge, to support the aims of HRC.
3.5. Undertaking public awareness activities and campaigns, designed to nurture and develop the repair culture in Huddersfield and surrounding areas and to demonstrate the benefits that can accrue.
3.6. Seeking to promote the well-being of members of the local community by offering opportunities for social interaction, volunteering and inclusion within HRC.
4. Volunteering
4.1. HRC is run by its members, they shall define the direction of HRC.
4.2. HRC Volunteers are deemed to have knowledge of the constitution and HRC policies (for example the volunteer code).
4.3. HRC Volunteers are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with this constitution.
4.4. HRC Volunteers shall not bring HRC into disrepute.
5. General Meetings
5.1. The General Meetings shall be the sovereign governing body and their decisions shall override those of any other body defined therein.
5.2. An annual general meeting must be held each year and not more than fifteen months may elapse between successive annual general meetings.
5.3. General Meetings shall be chaired by the Committee Chair. In the event there is no approved Committee Chair, the first item on the general meeting agenda shall be the appointment of a meeting chair. In the case of the election of the Committee Chair or other motions relating to the conduct of the Committee Chair, an alternative meeting chair will be appointed.
5.4. All HRC Members shall be entitled to attend the general meetings and be eligible to vote on motions, including appointments to the committee.
5.5. Any HRC Member may request the meeting chair exercise a proxy vote on their behalf if they are unable to attend. In this case, they may provide written instruction on how the vote should be used.
5.6. All General Meetings, annual or special, shall be advertised to eligible attendees, using the volunteer message group, at least 2 weeks in advance.
5.7. Any motions or committee nominations for the general meeting to consider shall be submitted to the meeting chair, to be published on the volunteer message group at least 1 week in advance of the general meeting.
5.8. All motions and committee appointments shall be approved by a majority of the HRC Members present at the meeting and proxy votes.
5.9. Voting shall be by means of a show of hands except in circumstances where the meeting chair deems it necessary to hold a secret ballot. Appointments to the committee, motions to suspend membership or motions to withdraw membership will always be carried out by secret ballot.
5.10. A General Meeting shall be held annually to:
- Review the accounts from the previous 12 months
- Appoint the members of the committee
5.11. A Special General Meeting may be convened between the annual meeting as seen necessary by the Committee Chair, for example:
- To approve significant expenses
- To approve replacement members of the Committee
- To approve the long-term suspension or withdrawal of membership
5.12. Any HRC Member, supported by 4 other HRC Members may request in writing to the Committee for a Special General Meeting to be convened within 60 days.
5.13. The meeting chair shall ensure written minutes are maintained that can be reviewed by any Member of HRC.
6. The Committee
6.1. The Committee shall be responsible for the general running of the HRC, subject to:
- the aims and objectives defined by this constitution;
- any motions approved by the General meeting, for example, a three-year plan.
6.2. The committee shall be comprised of the following:
- A Chairperson – responsible for the governance of HRC in accordance with its constitution;
- A Treasurer – responsible for the financial oversight of HRC;
- A Secretary – responsible for the running of the repair cafe;
- Up to four additional committee members.
6.3. All members of the committee shall be approved by the General Meeting, for a period that concludes at the end of the next Annual General Meeting.
6.4. Any HRC Member may nominate themselves to a position on the committee when vacant (either as a result of a resignation or expiration of term).
6.5. Any HRC Member, may observe a committee meeting but shall not have a vote or contribute to the meeting unless invited to do so by the meeting chair.
6.6. The Committee shall have a quorum of four.
6.7. The meeting chair shall ensure written committee minutes are maintained that can be reviewed by any HRC Member.
7. Finance
7.1. All and any funds received by HRC shall be used only for the purposes of HRC in accordance with the aims.
7.2. Any bank account shall be opened in the name of “Huddersfield Repair Cafe”. The bank mandate shall require all cheques (or electronic equivalents) to be authorised by at least two nominated committee members (typically the Treasurer and one other signatory).
7.3. The Treasurer shall maintain adequate records of the funds received and expenses of HRC.
7.4. The Treasurer shall prepare a report on the financial position for each annual general meeting.
7.5. The Treasurer may request a general meeting be convened to discuss any financial concerns.
8. Amendments to the Constitution
8.1. Any proposal for an alteration to the HRC Constitution must be submitted to the committee and will be submitted to a general meeting which shall be convened within 60 days.
8.2. A two-thirds majority must approve any change to the constitution at a general meeting including proxy votes exercised by the meeting chair.
9. Dissolution
9.1. HRC can be wound up at any time, following a motion at a general meeting approved by a two-thirds majority.
9.2. On dissolution, the committee shall distribute the remaining assets and any surplus funds to a group or organisation having similar aims and objectives to HRC.
Adoption of Constitution
Date 16th July