The Links, Incorporated Rose Hall

The Links, Incorporated, Rose Hall.

The Links, Incorporated chartered its first Jamaican NSBE, Jr. chapter—Mt. Zion/James River Valley (VA) LINKS-NSBE Jr. Chapter—at Mt. Zion Primary & Infant School in Rose Hall, Jamaica. The chapter is one of three that will be established in Jamaica as part of The Links’ 2020 four-day humanitarian effort Transforming Communities Across the Miles: Mission Trip To Jamaica.

Creating opportunities for educational advancement for young people of African descent has always been a focus of The Links, Incorporated; it seemed only natural that the women’s service organization would help equip the youth with the tools necessary to meet these needs.

“We are very excited to bring NSBE Jr. to Jamaica, starting with Mt. Zion,” said Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, National President of The Links, Incorporated. “We feel bringing STEM education to our youth is a game changer. Chartering a NSBE chapter where they are truly invested in STEM work, will change the trajectory, we think, of these children’s lives.”

FEATURES OF THE CHAPTER:

These international chapters are not the first ones The Links have had a hand in establishing. In 2015, members began partnering with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) in an effort to help grow STEM awareness as well as NSBE, Jr. chapters across the country. What started then as The Links implementing a few chapters in spring 2016, has now grown to over 100 chapters across the country and abroad, which is one-third of all NSBE, Jr. chapters.

Adds Leslye Miller Fraser, National Chair of STEM for The Links, Incorporated said:

“The world is becoming more and more STEM reliant—any career you choose likely has a STEM component from hard sciences to liberal arts,” she says. “So for our community to be fully engaged in the careers and economic success of the future, we need to make sure our kids are STEM ready. Our community as Links extends beyond the US boarder to the global community—including Jamaica— and we intend to ensure young people of color throughout the diaspora have the tools they need to succeed.”

Chartering a NSBE, Jr. chapter wasn’t the only service The Links performed. Members also planted a certified garden as part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Gardens-for-Wildlife program. The Mt. Zion students were also taught about “Wild STEM,” specifically ecology and the impact of climate change and other actions that adversely impact the habitat of pollinators, such as; butterflies, birds and bees, which are critical for our human food supply. Oral health exams were also provided by dentists to students, through the organization’s partnership with Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures.

KEY NOTE SPEAKER:

Chairman of the Board of Rose Hall Developments Limited – Mrs. Michelle Rollins, Chairman of the board at the Mount Zion Primary – Reverend Egbert Harvey and Principal of Mount Zion Primary – Mrs. Onex Bowen – expressed many thanks to The Links, for having dedicated 14 years of unwavering support to Mount Zion primary and Community.

Mrs. Michelle Rollins and National President of The Links, Incorporated – Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, to stay focused and continue to work hard in making themselves proud and the community proud. She thanked The Links, Incorporated, that they incorporated Rose Hall, Mount Zion Primary School in their 2020 Chapter.

To close out the day, National President Leonard presented a check to Onex Bowen, principal of Mt. Zion, with a check for $2500 to help continue to fund the institution’s STEM efforts. This will, no doubt enhance the economic and educational welfare of the island’s children and families.

ABOUT THE LINKS, INCORPORATED:

The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 16,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters who are located in 41 states and also in the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the cultural and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Links members contribute more than 1 million documented hours of community service annually, thereby strengthening communities and enhancing the nation. For more information, visit www.linksinc.org.

ABOUT THE LINKS FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED :

The Links Foundation, Incorporated has contributed more than $25 million to charitable causes since its founding. In 2018, it named its fifth $1 million grantee – St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Other million- dollar grantees include the United Negro College Fund, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., the National Civil Rights Museum and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American Culture and History in Washington, D.C.