President's Welcome

Welcome!

On behalf of the Washington (DC) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, I am delighted to welcome you to our chapter’s website. The Washington (DC) Chapter, the oldest Links chapter in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia area, proudly celebrates more than 75 years of a rich legacy of community service, friendship and commitment to the goals and purposes of The Links, Incorporated.    

The Links, Incorporated is an international not-for-profit organization committed to improving the lives of African-Americans and other members of the African diaspora. The organization was founded in November 1946; there currently are more than 15,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters located in 42 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. The Links, Incorporated is one of the nation’s oldest and largest women’s volunteer service organizations committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. For additional information, go to www.linksinc.org.

The Washington (DC) Chapter was chartered in April 1948 and currently has 80+ members who live in the District of Columbia and neighboring counties in Maryland and Virginia. The Chapter has a long history of delivering transformational programming to our community and we are committed to furthering this legacy. The Thomas Young Scholarship Fund, our key fund-raising initiative, has provided $372,000 in scholarships to more than 500 students over the past 34 years.  In addition, through our five facets – Services to Youth, International Trends and Services, National Trends and Services, Health and Human Services and the Arts – we deliver a variety of services to the community, including but not limited to:  

• Services to Youth.  Since 2015, Chapter members participate in a mentoring and enrichment program at the Howard Middle School for Math and Science, a charter school that located on the Howard University campus.  Members plan and conduct regular activities that expose middle school students to the contributions of African-American to the sciences, politics and law and the arts.    

• International Trends and Services.  To close the race and gender gap in corporate and State Department jobs, Foreign Service appointments and other global careers, in 2013 this facet implemented the Links International Business and Foreign Affairs Empowerment (LIFE) program to educate students at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School to international careers. The award-winning LIFE program meets monthly with students to discuss State Department, Foreign Service and other career options with renowned speakers, including US ambassadors and other senior level government officials. 

• National Trends and Services.  Since 2009, chapter members have conducted an annual Caregivers Forum, focused on providing information and resources to individuals caring for elderly or disabled family members.  Partnering with local organizations and the American Association of Retired People, the Forum connects caregivers to available resources and highlights the critical importance of self-care.   

• Health and Human Services.  Beginning in 2006, in partnership with the Howard University School of Dentistry, Howard University Department of Communications, the National Dental Association and the DC Department of Health, this facet has offered dental education and ongoing health screenings for children and adults in our community through the “Links to a Healthy Smile” program. Hands-on services have included treatment for under served patients at evening clinics at Howard University and So Others Might Eat, and oral health seminars at the N Street Village shelter. 

• Arts. Through the Arts facet, chapter members have introduced and exposed students to the history of classical music and contributions of musicians of color and encouraged and promoted diversity in the arts.  In partnership with the Coalition of African-Americans in the Performing Arts (CAAPA) the facet has conducted such activities as the Opera for Fun Youth Outreach Mini-Mozart Class to introduce the history of classical music to Cleveland elementary students and Paintings, Poetry, Puccini and Pasta, an evening of performance of Puccini arias by African-American classically trained musicians and various other activities. 

 We encourage you to review our website to learn more about the Washington (DC) Chapter!