On Feb. 1, local ladies of The Links Incorporated, an international, nonprofit organization focused on philanthropy and service in the community, gathered with friends and loved ones at Shahbain Farms and Event Center for their 26th Friendship Luncheon.
The annual event returned for the first time since 2020, helping to ring in The Links’ 74th anniversary in Fayetteville on Feb. 11.
With 38 active members and 17 alumnae, The Links celebratory Friendship Luncheon grows larger each year, said Marion Olion, a member of the Fayetteville chapter since 1983.
This year, just as past years, saw members and close friends and family gather to celebrate another successful year of bettering the community with food, music and a focus on heart health — a subject close to the organization since its inception.
Linked to the community
First established internationally in 1948, the organization now has more than 17,000 members, who are Black women with professional backgrounds, in a total of 299 chapters located in 41 states as well as the District of Columbia, the Bahamas and the United Kingdom.
The organization prides itself on its many core values that range from friendship and integrity to service and respect. The mission of the organization is simply stated on its website: “Friends transforming communities through service.”
From the 10 pioneer women who started the Fayetteville chapter in 1951 to now, The Links of Fayetteville have made substantial feats in community service, each performing anywhere from 48 to over 100 volunteer hours per year. Internationally, the organization’s members contribute over 1 million documented hours each year.
The organization is motivated by five main facets that drive the force of their servitude: services to youth, the arts, national trends and services, international trends and services, and health and human services.
The organization’s strength comes from the wide variety of skilled professionals and talented women who serve within the group. These women range from doctors to lawyers to teachers and dentists. Ericka Whitaker, CEO of Southeastern Community Action Partnership, has witnessed this herself in the one year she’s been a Link.
“I do believe that there’s a lot of greatness within every single individual that is a member of The Links,” Whitaker said.
The greatness among these women plays integral parts in each of their philanthropic works.
For the past seven years, Links members working in dentistry have partnered with Colgate’s mobile dental van to bring over $300,000 in free dental screenings to children in need, making the Fayetteville chapter more successful in dental screenings than any chapter in the U.S.
They’ve also donated over $20,000 to Cape Fear Valley Health for breast cancer awareness and worked with Fayetteville Technical Community College and Fayetteville State University to stock their food pantries and assist with student food insecurity.
This past December, The Links partnered with Simon Temple AME Zion Church at their annual Toys on Us event, providing over 1,300 winter gear items like mittens, gloves, scarves and coats to families in need.
Juanette Council, Fayetteville Chapter president, said this moment was one that stood out to her during her 20 years of service with The Links. Making the families and children feel special rounded out their year of servitude perfectly, she said.
“There’s need here, there’s love here, there’s community here,” she explained. “If not us, then who?”
The Links themselves
DeSandra Washington, the Fayetteville chapter’s corresponding secretary, emphasized the sense of sisterhood found within The Links.
Council and Washington have been friends since elementary school and both graduated from E.E. Smith High School. They say the feeling they get by serving the community they have called home for so long is indescribable.
“You always hear growing up that it starts at home. So, it’s very satisfying being able to help at home. That means a lot,” Washington said.
As stated on their website, The Links are “committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.” For Whitaker, this means that their culture is never forgotten and never erased.
“It means we continue to make sure our children’s children’s children continue the rich legacy and history of our culture. That they continue to stay planted in our communities,” she explained.
Olion said The Links have become intergenerational, ensuring their legacy never dies, with their children being their “Erolinks” and their husbands being their “Connecting Links.” And the 17th national president of The Links, Kimberly Jeffries Leonard is originally from Fayetteville, and her mother, Marye J. Jeffries, is a Links member herself.
The international organization has also inducted honorary members of influence such as the first Black female Vice President Kamala Harris, making strides in public recognition.
But despite how big or small The Links becomes, Olion emphasizes their mission with a song, singing, “We try to do some good each year for those who need our aid. It binds us close and brings us joy and so we feel repaid.”
More to come
With 74 years of service under their belts, The Links are nowhere near done in Fayetteville. Their upcoming outreach event will be their Black Family Wellness Expo on March 15 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at Smith Recreation Center across from the Fayetteville State University campus. Resources will include financial literacy, Medicaid, youth development, maternal and fetal health and human trafficking. Free dental screenings will also take place at this event.
Council and Washington emphasized their thanks toward the Fayetteville chapter’s sponsors — Piedmont Natural Gas, Fayetteville Technical Community College, Fayetteville State University, and SIGMA PI PHI Fraternity–Epsilon Alpha Boule — for their continued support.
To become a Links member, invitation from a current member is needed. But Washington encourages those interested in the mission to start by supporting their cause and showing up to events.
For the latest information on The Links’ Fayetteville chapter and their events and programs, visit fayettevillenclinks.org or stay connected via Instagram and Facebook.
