Honoring the 75th anniversary of The Links, Incorporated.

Whereas The Links, Incorporated is a nonprofit organization with an international presence dedicated to ensuring the cultural and economic influence of African-American ancestry exists for future generations; Whereas through the hard work and volunteerism of its members, The Links, Incorporated remains an influential, leading voice for Black communities across the world; Whereas The Links, Incorporated was founded on November 9, 1946, and is one of the Nation’s oldest and most widespread volunteer service organizations; Whereas The Links, Incorporated was established under the leadership of Ms. Margaret Rosell Hawkins and Ms. Sarah Strickland Scott to respond to the needs of Black women in ways other clubs did not; Whereas 7 other noble women joined Hawkins and Scott in the conception of an intercity organization that would promote civic engagement, educational advancement, and cultural development, and the founders of this visionary group included Frances Atkinson, Katie Green, Marion Minton, Lillian Stanford, Myrtle Manigault Stratton, Lillian Wall, and Dorothy Wright; Whereas The Links, Incorporated has 292 chapters and over 16,000 distinguished female members of African descent from 41 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom; Whereas members of The Links, Incorporated are community, political, and opinion leaders, activists, change agents, role models, mentors, influencers, dreamers, believers, thinkers, and doers; Whereas members devote over 1,000,000 volunteer service hours annually, enriching the communities they serve; Whereas The Links, Incorporated has been honored by the United Nations Association of New York and the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation, and was recognized by the late Congressman John Lewis for its outstanding community service initiatives; Whereas the core values at the forefront of The Links, Incorporated’s endeavors are friendship, responsibility, honesty, legacy, commitment, family relationships, accountability, respect for self and others, service, confidentiality, integrity, and courage; Whereas The Links, Incorporated has been consistent since its inception in fulfilling its mission of service in the African-American community, and in recent years, Links chapters have implemented various projects and initiatives, and provided services through multifaceted programs, including their Services to Youth, Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services facets; Whereas, between 2018 to 2020, the Services to Youth facet awarded approximately 2,667 scholarships to Black youth across the Nation, encouraging them to pursue their academic interests and assisting them in becoming productive citizens, and in addition to providing these scholarships, the Services to Youth program employs an interdisciplinary approach to close the achievement gap from pre-K through college, provides college mentoring programs, offers support for STEM programs, and of historically Black colleges and universities; Whereas through the organization’s Arts facet, The Links, Incorporated supports and prioritizes a wide range of projects and programs, which includes a Signature Arts Program that promotes interest in the classical arts amongst Black youth, a National Poster Art Competition, a partnership-based program with the Sphinx Organization, and a Young Master Writers Competition Program; Whereas through the National Trends and Services facet, The Links, Incorporated focuses on tackling economic, health, social justice, and other disparities in communities of color by increasing access to resources through advocacy, education, and service, and this includes a programmatic approach that focuses on substance abuse, health and wellness, and financial literacy and support for elderly Black women aimed at empowering low-income Blacks, serving, on average, people who make less than $50,000 a year; Whereas The Links, Incorporated global perspective through the International Trends and Services facet has permitted the organization to adopt schools in South Africa, Liberia, Ghana, and Jamaica, build maternal waiting homes in Liberia, provide thousands of dental exams at primary schools in Jamaica, donate over 1,000 books to libraries, and so much more; and Whereas The Links, Incorporated works to confront the overwhelming concern of inadequate access to health care through their Health and Human Services facet and focuses on achieving health equity, fighting heart disease (which disproportionately kills African-American women), decreasing disparities in donor registration and transplantation in the African-American community, educating communities on HIV/AIDS, promoting mental health wellness, and advancing oral health: Now, therefore, be it That the footprint made by The Links, Incorporated since its establishment 75 years ago is vast, and their continued commitment to advocacy, service, and education has and continues to uplift the African-American community and those of African descent in remarkable measures, both nationally and internationally.

Summary: This resolution commemorates the 75th anniversary of The Links, Incorporated, a nonprofit volunteer organization with a mission of ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.