The Chapter celebrated the 15th Anniversary of the Women of African Descent Film Festival  with a retrospective of favorite films from years past while spotlighting several new films.  In recognition of its continuing work on promoting heart health, the Chapter was awarded a HeartLinks grant by The Links Foundation.  The Chapter programming at Boys and Girls High School, led by the Services to Youth Facet, expanded to encompass all five facets. In May 2016, Lowell Hawthorne, President & CEO of Golden Krust Bakery & Grill, held a special session with our students at Boys and Girls High School, sharing wisdom and a meal. Students interviewed the self-made millionaire, whose business has more than 100 store locations in the United States, about his life and his advice for their career paths.  

The Chapter’s STEAM program, which exposed adolescent girls to careers in science and technology, completed its first successful season. The Chapter also partnered with the American Heart Association, participating in the Brooklyn Heart Walk, co-sponsoring Go Red Saturday with other Brooklyn women’s organizations at Brooklyn Borough Hall and hosting the Big Apple Cluster of The Links at Go Red Sunday worship and brunch. At the Eastern Area Conference, the Chapter was awarded the Legacy Award for Health and Human Services and the Second place award for the Arts. Best Practices Awards in the Arts, Health and Human Services and International Trends and Services were given to the chapter.

The Brooklyn Chapter expanded its International Trends and Services work to into a project, Medical Necessities in Haiti and Liberia, which continued the chapter’s Haitian Women’s Survival Kit Project while providing mama kits to clinics in Liberia, where medical resources and medical personnel have been scarce since the civil wars. Our involvement expanded when the Ebola crisis hit Liberia. The Chapter partnered with the HEARTT Foundation, chaired by Dr. James Sirleaf, to raise awareness about Ebola. At the National Assembly, the Brooklyn Chapter was awarded the third place program award for International Trends and Services and Best Practices Awards in the Arts, Health and Human Services and International Trends and Services.

The year of our 60th Anniversary, the Brooklyn Chapter embarked on a yearlong celebration of our legacy of friendship and service to the Brooklyn and international communities, while striving to find new ways to create lasting community impact in the future. Since 1960 through our Salute to Youth project, the Brooklyn Chapter has given more than $500,000 in financial support to over 500 students to pursue post- secondary education in creative and academic areas of study. The Brooklyn Chapter received first place program awards at the Eastern Area Conference in Arts and Health and Human Services. Additionally, the chapter received the third place program award for International Trends and Services.

The Brooklyn Chapter developed a novel approach to fighting childhood obesity. The Brooklyn Chapter was awarded a National Obesity Initiative Grant for its Can You Imagine Me? Child Obesity Project at Public School 270 in Brooklyn. The chapter’s project was featured in a workshop at the National Assembly and won the first place Health and Human Services program award at the 2013 Eastern Area Conference.

To address the devastating aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Brooklyn Chapter launched the Haitian Women’s Survival Kit Project to provide basic personal hygiene items to Haitian women and girls. This relief project serves as a model program for other Links chapters.

In Chapter celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Arts Facet’s Women of African Descent Film Festival. In ten years of operation the Women of African Descent Film Festival almost 150 films — documentaries and narratives — by an international roster of women filmmakers of African descent representing countries from throughout the African Diaspora including the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Africa.

Addressing the oral health needs of children, the Brooklyn Chapter partnered with the Colgate Palmolive’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures program to reach underserved children and their parents in Brooklyn. These volunteer dentists conducted free dental screenings, distributed educational materials, and educate children and their families about the importance of maintaining good oral health.

In partnership with the National and Area International Trends and Services Committees, the Brooklyn Chapter sponsors local high school students to attend the annual United Nations Youth Conference, Peace and Development – Disarmament Now. This initiative promotes global awareness and human rights advocacy among student leaders from schools like Boys and Girls High School, Benjamin Banneker Academy, and Medgar Evers College Prep. The Chapter’s commitment to youth empowerment was recognized with a Best Practices award for Opening the World to Our Youth at The Links, Incorporated Eastern Area Conference in Roanoke, VA.

The Brooklyn Chapter participated in the Susan G. Komen Greater NYC Race for Cure through The Brooklyn Chapter fundraised with the Big Apple Cluster Chapters’ Team.

Chapter receives Best Practices, the Legacy Award, The Arts, and $1,00 award, the Arts for the Women of African Descent Film Festival, Best Practices, and Best Practices, National Trends, Linkages to Life, at the Links, Inc. National Assembly, Seattle, WA.

At a Brooklyn shelter for women and families affected by domestic violence, the Brooklyn Chapter of The Links, Incorporated provided informal mentoring, recreational activities, and job readiness training—such as résumé writing, interview preparation, and professional attire guidance. The Chapter’s impactful work has been recognized with multiple Best Practices awards at the Eastern Regional Conference, including 1st Place and $1,500 for the Women of African Descent Film Festival (Arts), the Mengo Center Project in Kampala, Uganda (International Trends), and Opening the World to Our Youth (Services to Youth) in Arlington, VA.

Chapter receives Best Practices, 3rd Place, and $1,000 award, the Arts for the Women of African Descent Film Festival, Links Inc. Na

To help close the achievement gap, the Brooklyn Chapter of The Links, Incorporated launched Opening the World to Our Youth at Boys and Girls High School. Now in its eighth year, this program offers academic support, cultural enrichment, life skills workshops, and college prep—empowering students to thrive. Through field trips and guest speakers, students explore career paths and broaden their perspectives. The Chapter was honored with the Best Practices Award, 1st Place, and a $1,000 grant at the Eastern Area Conference for its contributions to the Arts through the Women of African Descent Film Festival.

The Brooklyn Chapter convened a forum, Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education, to raise awareness about the opportunities the decision created and the continuing need to make real improvements in public education to fulfill its promise of equal opportunity for all children to a quality education.

The Brooklyn Chapter celebrated its Golden Anniversary of providing fifty years of service to the Brooklyn community with a full year of service events geared toward the Brooklyn community and culminating with a 50th Anniversary luncheon at the Brooklyn Marriott.

OUR ORGANIZERS
Learn more about our organizers and early Brooklyn Links history.