The Detroit Chapter of The Links, Incorporated was chartered on March 10, 1951, the first of the ten Links chapters in Michigan. From its earliest years, when members made stuffed toys for patients at Children’s Hospital and cancer pads for the Michigan Cancer Foundation, the Detroit Chapter has been united in friendship and service. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Chapter’s luncheon fashion show was a highlight of Detroit’s spring social season. Proceeds supported the United Foundation, UNCF, Urban League, DABO and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
Youth, arts and culture have long been important focus areas for the Chapter. For more than 20 years, the Detroit Chapter funded scholarships that enabled disadvantaged children to attend summer camp and participate in summer arts and enrichment programs. Members also opened their homes to showcase the creative talents of Detroit Public School (DPS) students. When the exhibit became too large for their homes, the Chapter partnered with DPS to move the show to the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Benefit parties in the 1980s enabled the Chapter to provide significant funding to the Detroit Historical Museum and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. At the time, the Chapter’s gift of $25,000 was the largest donation the Charles H. Wright Museum had received from a local African American organization.
From the early 2000s through the present, the Chapter set a priority for involvement with adolescent students. Through its Umbrella Project, Linking Adolescent Students to Success (LASS), members mentored students at the Detroit International Academy, the only all-girls public school in Detroit. LASS was recognized with excellence in programming awards at the Links National Assemblies in 2002 and 2010.
The Chapter’s relationship with the DIA has deepened over the years. To provide uniforms for needy students, the Chapter provides annual funding for Velma’s Closet, a service dedicated in memory of former Chapter president Velma Mobley. The Chapter also purchased and installed an industrial-size washer and dryer at the school to allow students access to laundry facilities to keep their uniforms clean and neat. DIA students also look forward to the Detroit Chapter’s annual Community Hat Strut that raises awareness about issues related to breast cancer in October, and have participated in a myriad of activities and programs developed and presented by each of the chapter’s facets.
In 2015, the Chapter began to focus its attention on the DIA’s class of 2018–almost exclusively, starting with the students in the ninth grade and moving along with them through their high school years through graduation. Working with the school principal and a designated liaison, each facet planned programs designed to engage the students and offer a range of useful information, while building relationships that will be sustained through each of the students’ remaining three years in high school.
In addition to the Chapter’s concentration on the Detroit International Academy, numerous organizations have also benefited from the Chapter’s philanthropy over its six decades of service to this community, including the Cass Technical High School Harp and Vocal Ensemble, Detroit Public Library, Rosa and Raymond Parks Foundation, St. Clare School for Girls in Kenya, Simon House, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Your Heritage House. The Detroit Chapter has 39 members and 15 alumnae members today, women distinguished in their professional roles and community service. Collectively, Chapter members unite to strengthen the chain of Links throughout the state and across the country.
