“font-family: Verdana;”>More than 750 African-American women, from the age of 25 to octogenarians, converged upon downtown St. Louis last week to connect as members of The Links, Incorporated.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Archway, Gateway and St. Louis Chapters of the national civic and service organization hosted the 2011 Central Area Conference with the mission “Powering the Promise” from June 29 to July 2 at the St. Louis Hyatt at the Arch.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Links, Incorporated was founded to “promote a social connection with likeminded women with likeminded experiences,” said national President Margot James Copeland.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Copeland said the organization evolved from the Historically Black College movement of the 1940s and a yearning by college-trained women to create viable professional networks and to provide community service at a higher level.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>At the conference, they celebrated the completion of the Central Area’s HBCU Heart of Linkdom Campaign, raising $200,000 to create endowed scholarships at the 16 HBCUs located in their area.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #281709;”>Copeland traveled from Cleveland, Oh. to join HBCU presidents at the reception on Thursday evening.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>“Many of our students depend on financial assistance to help with their college expenses, and are, therefore, truly grateful to organizations, such as The Links,
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana; mso-fareast-font-family:”>Incorporated, that focus on giving so much back to our community and to our youth,” said Dr. Henry Givens Jr., president of Harris-Stowe State University.
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The
conference consisted of multiple group meetings, clusters and
breakout sessions designed to enrich individual member and chapter
productivity. Copeland said the organization has many platforms,
mostly focused on addressing education issues such as alarming
rates of drop-outs and academic failure among black
youth.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Sandra McClung, a member of the Archway Chapter, said the conference was “an absolutely incredible experience.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The Civic Luncheon on Thursday honored four St. Louis civic leaders: Ruth Smith, longtime president and CEO of the Human Development Corporation; License Collector Michael P. McMillan; Ron Himes, founder and director of the Black Rep; and David L. Steward, founder and chairman of Worldwide Technology Corporation .
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Founded in Philadelphia in 1946, The Links, Incorporated now has 12,000-plus African-American women in 274 chapters located in 42 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Bahamas. Members dedicate more than 500,000 service hours annually.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>In fact, the culminating event of the conference was a community service project held at the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation. In Operation Recovery: Giving From the Heart of Linkdom, each participating Link assembled multiple recovery kits for disaster victims in Joplin. The green and white bags were filled with items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap and deodorant.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Sarah Brown, national president of The National Dental Association, helped to coordinate the Colgate van along with thousands of dollars worth of donations for disaster relief packets.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Local members recognized during Operation Recovery for their special commitment of service and time were Ivie Clay, Edith Granberry, Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, Cheryl Polk, Cheryl Young, Benita Cornute, Kay Roster, Ruby Hairman-Christian and Thelma Steward.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Friendship and service are truly at our core,” said Teree L. Caldwell-Johnson, Central Area director from Des Moines, Ia.
