Do You Know Your Rights?

Posted Sat, 14 May 2011, 10:22am by Mac Gunter

The strength of any organization is found in the commitment of its members to the organization’s vision and mission. OutSport Toronto’s vision is to be the respected voice of LGBT sport. We all know that respect has to be earned, and the Board of Directors of OutSport is working hard in an effort to achieve that respect by focusing on its mission to serve and support LGBT amateur sport organizations in the Greater Toronto Area.

Like most non-profit community organizations, OutSport Toronto’s Board of Directors is made up of a small group of dedicated volunteers who believe very strongly in that aforementioned mission. We know that to successfully achieve the goals that we have set for OutSport, we need the Nominees that represent our member organizations to understand the importance of their role. In that spirit we drafted the following statement of the rights and responsibilities of our Nominees.

Nominees! You Have the Right...

To post your organization’s events to OutSport Toronto website calendar.
To liaise with OutSport Toronto on behalf of your organization.
To represent your organization at OutSport Toronto’s Annual General Meeting and vote on your organization’s behalf.
To assist OutSport Toronto on a voluntary basis by serving on committees established to organize and run various events.

Your Have the Responsibility...

For submitting your organization’s membership (re)registration to OutSport Toronto on an annual basis.
For distributing information from OutSport Toronto as appropriate to your member organization’s executive or full membership.
For updating OutSport Toronto with contact information relative to your organization.
For being familiar with OutSport Toronto’s by-laws and for ensuring they are respected.
For encouraging and supporting the development of sports and recreation within the LGBT community by advocating on behalf of OutSport Toronto and all member organizations.

In reviewing the above list, there are three things that require the Nominees’ ongoing attention:

Our members have found the online calendar to be a very useful tool in planning their events and in keeping the community informed. As OutSport Toronto’s website becomes more widely used, we believe it will become the primary source of information on LGBT sports events for both the LGBT community at large and for other sporting communities within the GTA that aspire to promote diversity. Therefore, we strongly encourage our Nominees to ensure that their organization’s events are posted on a timely basis.
Effective communication is critical to success. When OutSport Toronto is trying to reach all LGBT athletes, we rely on our Nominees to share information with the members of their organization. Sometimes this can be done via their organization’s regular newsletter, but in other cases it may require a special mass email due to critical timeliness.
Planning and executing community events often requires the active participation of volunteers from all member organizations. Like all community organizations, OutSport Toronto is always looking for people to assist with event planning and execution. If the Nominee doesn’t have the time to help, we hope they would actively seek volunteers from their organization’s membership to help OutSport Toronto’s endeavours to serve and support the greater LGBT sports community.

In his often quoted inaugural speech, President John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.” In the same spirit of community, we invite OutSport Toronto’s Nominees to ask what they can do to serve not only the interests of their member organization, but to serve and support all LGBT amateur sport organizations in the GTA. Together, we can promote participation in sports and recreation and contribute to healthy living within the LGBT community.