Sacnj

Syrian American Council 958 Main Street Paterson NJ 07503 (973) 341-7882 sacnj12@gmail.com Meeting was called to order at 11:30 a.m. Note: Board of Directors for the NJ Chapter of SAC would like to take this opportunity to thank all our members who attended Sundays meeting. We thank you for your time, and dedication and look forward to many more prosperous and productive meetings! Minutes: Sunday January 15th 2012 I. ! Opening Reports: The challenges that face the NJ Chapter of SAC are addressed, including: A. Issue of efficiency, organization, and communication/ link between members and SAC national. 1. SACNJhasofficiallyopeneditsPatersonofficewherethemeetingwasheld and has hired a Secretary/Council Coordinator to manage the Chapters work and maintain organization of events and communication with members. B. Volunteer Issue: 1. YouthCommittee-ameetingwasheldwiththeyouthinanefforttomobilize their efforts. a) Asignuplistwassentaroundinanefforttobetterchannelcommunication between the youth. b) Youth committees will be created in an effort to meet the challenges of SAC NJ and better meet objectives. (1) Everyone will be connected via e-mail, Facebook (SAC NJ), and google group. The youth will also have their own google group for stronger youth connection. Updates on SAC National: A. ! SAC national has been reorganizing it National Chapter in an effort to better meet the challenges it faces, and in an effort to better organize its individual state chapters. New committees have been created including: II. 1. Public Relations Committee- to better outreach to the US Government and ! Media- a. Has hired LER (PR firm)- which has in return connected SAC national to high end media channels, and has: i. Connected SAC (National and Chapters) with CNN ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! and Al Jazeera English- as well as with journalists and newspapers such as the NY Times. These agencies are willing to include reports/ articles on our events and who are all willing to include our articles. all our events should be covered by them in an effort to raise the necessary awareness WeneedaSACNJspokesperson(s),andwriterstosubmitto these news agencies. i) ii) 2. Policy Making Committee- has been created in order to steer our course: a. Manual to be issued to guide organization of and coordination of Chapter activities including guides for protests, events, as well as fundraising. 3. Government Relations Committee- Connections have been established with the White House, Treasury, State Department, and Congress. 4. Humanitarian Committee- has gained approval from US Treasury Department to transfer money into Syria- the money can be donated online thru the Syrian Sunrise Foundation. a. Their link is now on the SAC NJ Facebook Page. b. Their tax I.D # and information will be sent via e-mail to the members. 5. Membership Committee- in an effort to gain approval and recognition by the US State Department and Government as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in the USA we must maintain a close count on our members. Upcoming Events: I. Upcoming Protests: ➡! SAC NJ logo should be present at these protests A. February 3 2012: Remembering Hama Massacre- NYC B. March 15 2012: First Anniversary for Syrian Revolution- Washington C. March 16 2012: First Anniversary for Syrian Revolution- NYC by the United Nations II. SAC NJ suggested events: A. Monthly Protest: Motion passes by unanimous vote B. Monthly Town Hall Event: Motion passes by unanimous vote C. Monthly Meeting: Motion passes by unanimous vote D. Preparation for an Awareness Campaign Event for Syria: 1. YouthMemberswereassignedtoreachouttoMSAʼs,ArabClubs,aswellas other Humanitarian Clubs on campus at their respective Universities in an effort to learn about their previous successful events, brainstorm on creative ideas for an event on the Syrian Revolution and to gain their partnership/ support in an upcoming event. a) Event to be scheduled for some time in February. b) Ayoutheventcommitteeshouldbecreatedtocoordinatethisevent. c) Universitiesinclude:NJIT,RutgersUniv.(NewarkandNewBrunswick), Seton Hall University (Undergrad and Grad), Farleigh Dickinson, Passaic County Community College, Madison, NYU (Undergrad and Grad). d) Ideas should be e-mailed to sacnj12@gmail.com and to Maher Faraj farajm1@hotmail.com with the relevant contact information. e) SAC NJ will reach out to other SAC youth committees to find out what successful events they have held. E. SAC NJ should create a Humanitarian committee who will work on sponsoring a project on the ground in Syria. Floor open for Comments/Questions/Suggestions: ➡! Our efforts should be unified to: ➡ i. Stop the regime. Priority should be to help the people on the ground in Syria. ➡ ii. Generate money to the Syrian people who are on the streets and leading the Revolution. ➡ iii. The people in Syria call onto their fellow Syrian Americans in the West who have the skills/education/knowledge and experience to start working on the framework for the future government and Constitution of Syria. ➡ iv. The flag of SAC NJ must be adjusted to the new flag of the Revolution.