Chapter History
On December 5, 1948, The Pittsburgh Chapter of The Links, Incorporated was chartered as the sixth Chapter of what has become a national organization of African American women providing world class leadership, friendship and service. Pittsburgh co-founders Jessie Vann and Daisy Lampkin invited 13 other outstanding women to commit the strengths of their friendship and resources to the established purposes of the Links organization, which has a rich legacy. The charter members of the Pittsburgh Chapter are: Jessie M. Vann, Daisy Lampkin, Jewell Blow, Lillian Brown, Betty Butler, Gladys Curtis, Lucille Cuthbert, Kathleen Douglass, Gertrude Holmes, Harriet L. Jameson, Rachel Lewis, Corinne Lindsay, Winifred Moss, Carolyn Stevenson and Esther Summers.
We recently celebrated our sixty-fifth anniversary with emphasis on forging our future through community service. In that regard poet, performer, and sculptor Vanessa German and the African American Music Institute Boy’s Choir were featured guests. For over sixty-five years, the Pittsburgh Chapter has gathered momentum, continuously redefined its purpose, sharpened its focus and expanded program dimensions in order to make the name Links not only a chain of friendship, but also a chain of purpose.
Over the years, the Pittsburgh Chapter has grown in membership and in strength providing services and resources to the community. Programs and projects tend to follow the five national program facets: the Arts, Services to Youth, National Trends and International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services. The Chapter has received many awards for outstanding programs and initiatives. Link members are accomplished in their private and public spheres of responsibility and have been recognized as dynamic leaders throughout the Greater Pittsburgh Area. A review of the past six decades reveals a host of activities and programs created by the Pittsburgh Links to address challenges under the five priorities.
In 2008 our 60th Anniversary Project was a celebration of 60 years of service. It began with a benefit concert in March at the Carnegie Music Hall featuring again, Denyce Graves. As a result of this event, over $96,000 was raised and distributed to the Afro-American Music Institute, the Homewood Branch of the Carnegie Library, the Neighborhood Academy, and Three Rivers Youth. The service continued in September with a successful community Health Fair Breakfast designed to educate the community about disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease.
Over the past five years, we have continued our community commitment by partnering with the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and Robert Morris University in sponsoring programs in the arts and programs focused on African-American males. Currently, Chapter members serve as mentors to young ladies at Obama Academy and Westinghouse High School – two public schools in the Pittsburgh area.
As we celebrate 70 years of service, we look forward to maintaining and to forging collaborations that will serve and strengthen our community.
We recently celebrated our sixty-fifth anniversary with emphasis on forging our future through community service. In that regard poet, performer, and sculptor Vanessa German and the African American Music Institute Boy’s Choir were featured guests. For over sixty-five years, the Pittsburgh Chapter has gathered momentum, continuously redefined its purpose, sharpened its focus and expanded program dimensions in order to make the name Links not only a chain of friendship, but also a chain of purpose.
Over the years, the Pittsburgh Chapter has grown in membership and in strength providing services and resources to the community. Programs and projects tend to follow the five national program facets: the Arts, Services to Youth, National Trends and International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services. The Chapter has received many awards for outstanding programs and initiatives. Link members are accomplished in their private and public spheres of responsibility and have been recognized as dynamic leaders throughout the Greater Pittsburgh Area. A review of the past six decades reveals a host of activities and programs created by the Pittsburgh Links to address challenges under the five priorities.
In 2008 our 60th Anniversary Project was a celebration of 60 years of service. It began with a benefit concert in March at the Carnegie Music Hall featuring again, Denyce Graves. As a result of this event, over $96,000 was raised and distributed to the Afro-American Music Institute, the Homewood Branch of the Carnegie Library, the Neighborhood Academy, and Three Rivers Youth. The service continued in September with a successful community Health Fair Breakfast designed to educate the community about disease, high blood pressure, and kidney disease.
Over the past five years, we have continued our community commitment by partnering with the August Wilson Center for African American Culture, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and Robert Morris University in sponsoring programs in the arts and programs focused on African-American males. Currently, Chapter members serve as mentors to young ladies at Obama Academy and Westinghouse High School – two public schools in the Pittsburgh area.
As we celebrate 70 years of service, we look forward to maintaining and to forging collaborations that will serve and strengthen our community.