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Chapter History
The Cleveland Chapter was organized on October 28, 1950 with fourteen charter members. It was the twenty-eighth chapter of the Links, Incorporated to be chartered. In the six decades since its inception, the Cleveland Chapter has significantly impacted the northeastern Ohio community with its programs, volunteerism, and member dedication to improving the quality of life for those of African-American descent.
Here are highlights of our programs from 1950—2008:
1951
Recognition of honor students from all Cleveland Public High Schools.
Sponsored opening night test-run of the opera, “The Medium” starring Link Zelma George. Donation to Karamu House of $500.
1952
Presentation of Janet Collins, the first Black Prima Ballerina for the Metropolitan Opera Company. The benefit was co-sponsored with the Girlfriends. Donated $1500 to the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP.
1954
Sponsored the world premiere of “The Medium”, starring Link Zelma George. Composer Gian Carlo Menotti was in attendance. The play went on to a successful Broadway run.
1962
First financial contribution made to the Jewish Welfare Fund by a Negro Organization.
1963
Summer scholarships provided for junior high school students for an intensive reading program. Awards given to two outstanding high school students in the field of science.
1966
Purchased 500 books for pre-schoolers in Project Head Start.
1967-1970
Sponsored a series of courses on good grooming, sex education and self enhancement for students at the Cleveland Job Corps Center.
1972
Developed a program to have 200 Greater Cleveland corporations provide over 100 high quality summer jobs for lower middle class Black youth.
1973-1974
Drug abuse program presented involving a physician from the Academy of Medicine and young former drug addicts from the Mansfield Correctional Institution.
1974-1975
Provided a professional tutor to Charles Eliot Jr. High School, Harvard and Mt. Pleasant Community Centers for a special tutorial project. Career guidance series of lectures was provided presenting young professionals from the community. Links and Connecting Links.
Funded tuition for teachers to attend Reading Workshops at Kent State University.
Recruited and funded students from the KEDS Center at KSU to teach swimming, golf and tennis to East Cleveland Schools students
Funded four youth to participate in the 1975 Government Internship Program in Washington, D.C.
1975
Participated in the Cleveland celebration of the International Women’s Year.
1976
“Ellingtonia”, a benefit dinner-dance featuring Duke Ellington Orchestra, netted $15,000 for Karamu House
1978
“ The African-American Tradition in the Decorative Arts”. A major exhibit co-sponsored with the Cleveland Museum of Art. The project included an Educational Enrichment Program for the public schools, providing an orientation for classes before their visits to the exhibit. The project was five years in the making and was a ‘first’ for the museum to work with a community group./ Links provided funding for a professional curator who developed an exhibit catalogue. This challenging, but very successful project was received enthusiastically, locally and nationally. The exhibition traveled to the Milwaukee Art Center, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the St. Louis Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Smithsonian in Washington, D. C., and the Henry Gallery at the Museum of Washington in Seattle. Link Chapters in each city served as co-sponsors of the exhibition.
1979
Presented a James Van der Zee photograph to the Cleveland Museum of Art.
1980-1985
Presented the Annual Festival of Trees, in cooperation with the Junior League of Cleveland.
1982
Co-sponsor for the Cleveland School of the Arts first mainstage production, “ Chicken Little”. This began a history of mutual cooperation that has resulted in the support of programs and students at the CSA.
1983
Co-sponsor with the Cuyahoga Community College of a test preparation lecture series for high school students. Four seminars focused on test taking skills to improve student performance on the SAT’s and ACT’s. Counselors, principals and parents involved in the implementation piloted at East Technical High School.
1984
Presented an invitational grantsmanship seminar, “How to Apply for Money & Get It!” to local leading nonprofit civic organizations.
1985
Project Discovery: a National Links program with support from the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Dept. of Labor in eight selected cities. A series of workshops targeting middle-aged minority women seeking better opportunities in the workplace. Networked with other organizations for both participants and presenters.
1986
“ Women of Courage”, an exhibition of photographs based on the “Black Oral History Project, sponsored by the Schlesinger Library’s History of Women of America. Presented in collaboration with the Cuyahoga Community College and the Western Reserve Historical Society. The exhibit, related workshops and seminars were made possible by grants from the Cleveland Foundation, Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, Standard Oil Company, Ohio Council for the Humanities and the Links Foundation.
1987
AIDS workshops targeting Black social, civic and church groups to provide vital and accurate information and suggestions for action to assist the community.
1989
Project LEAD: High Expectations: a National Links project to provide information to youth on drugs, drug abuse and guidance on avoidance behavior. The Cleveland and Western Reserve Chapters provided sessions on the Cleveland and East Cleveland Public Schools.
1990
Co-sponsored the annual American Cancer Society Ball, in celebration of the chapter’s fortieth anniversary. Ultimately resulted in the first African-American presence on the governing board and on various comities of the ACS and increased programs and services to the Black community.
1993
Presented a luncheon and book signing for “ Conversations with Sister President” by Link Johnetta Cole, PhD., President of Spelman College
1995
Sponsored the first Links National Walk-a-thon for Health and Hunger with the Western Reserve Chapter of Links, Inc. Local beneficiaries were Miracle Village and Transitional Housing.
Presented a book signing and high tea reception for “Music as Medicine”, by Link Deforia Lane at A Cultural Exchange, a bookstore owned by Link Debbie McHamm, to benefit Stopping Aids is My Mission.
1996
Co-sponsored a Gala for the grand opening of Nordstrom in Cleveland with the Junior League of Cleveland. The Links gave a gift of $25,000 to the Eliza Bryant Nursing Home.
Established a yearly scholarship for Minority Students at the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Co-Sponsor of “Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions”, a Smithsonian Institute traveling exhibition, with the Western Reserve Historical Society. This was the first presentation of the photographic history of gospel music outside the Smithsonian galleries, and went on to travel to twelve other cities. The Cleveland Chapter received the First Place award for a significant contribution to the Arts from the Links National Assembly.
1999
The 37th Central Area Conference held in Cleveland and hosted by the Lake Erie Cluster, the Cleveland, Western Reserve and Kent Chapters. The 5 day conference was attended by 1100 Links and their families from 17 chapters, and well as National Officers of the Links, Inc.
Dedication of the JoAhn Brown-Nash Reading Room at the Langston Hughes branch of the Cleveland Public Library.
Corporate Circle Sponsor for “An Evening with Kathleen Battle”
Hosted a book signing and lecture for “African-American Art” by Sharon F. Patton, PhD., Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio.
2000
Sponsored the construction of the High School in Soweto, South Africa as part of the “Education Across the Miles” National Links programming.
Gave a gift to Karamu House of $4500.
2000
Donated books and furniture to the Metzenbaum Center, also participated in a reading program, reading to children who wait there to visit with their parents.
Donated $4,500 to Karamu House
Celebrated the Chapter’s 50th Anniversary with a Gala.
2001
Donated books to the Shaker Heights School District by author Joyce Hanson.
Partnered with the Upward Bound program to present a lecture series to high school students on topics as health & wellness, elections, careers & time management.
2002
Hosted a Tree-Trimming fundraiser.
Continued the collaboration with Upward Bound
2003
Co-produced the Cleveland Chapter Legacy Exhibit at the main branch of the Cleveland Public Library, which highlighted the African-American clubwomen’s historic role and chapter’s 54 years of service in photos, letters and other artifacts from both the library’s documents and the chapter’s.
Sponsored an African-American music major at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
2004
Celebrated the opening of the CPL Legacy exhibit with a gala weekend, featuring our National President, Gladys Gary Vaughn as the keynote speaker.
Collaborated with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History on the opening of “Senenkunya”, an exhibition of sub-Saharan artifacts.
Sent local middle school students to a summer enrichment camp at Piney Woods School, the oldest African-American boarding school in the nation.
Worked with the Young Scholars program at Woodbury Middle School, establishing the African and African-American Arts program, which exposed 40 students to careers in arts-related fields and viewing art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Raised funds for our programs at the 2nd Tree-Trimming benefit.
Hosted a fundraising reception after a production of the play, “Crowns” at the Cleveland Play House. The money went to support the scholars attending the Piney Woods Summer Program.
2005
Continued the Piney Woods Camper Scholarship program.
Received a grant from Trinity Church to assist in the Woodbury Scholars program.
Undertook a chapter strategic plan to determine the direction of the chapter’s next project - an umbrella project focused at a Cleveland Municipal School District K-8th grade school.
Chapter selected Andrew J Rickoff School for the umbrella project and began establishing a relationship with the school staff, assessing their needs and planning projects.
Sponsored 4 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Cleveland over the holidays.
2006
Margot Copeland elected National Vice President of The Links, Incorporated at the 35th National Assembly in Philadelphia, PA.
Chapter held a Health Fair for students and their families at A. J. Rickoff to kick-off the 3 year Umbrella Project at the school. Activities included consultations, speakers, giveaways and lunch.
2007
Students, teachers, and chapter members collaborated on creating 4 quilts, students met professional quilters and were instructed in the art form. Students attended an art gallery and met with a nationally renowned quilt artist. At the end of the school year, the chapter hosted a reception for the participating students.
The Cleveland Chapter won an award for their Umbrella Project at the Links Central Area Conference.
The chapter started year 2 of the AJ Rickoff project with a school supply drive hat provided supplies for the students.
A showing of the film, “Ties that Bind” was held at the Cleveland Clinic and proceeds from the showing and reception were donated to a Battered Women’s Shelter
2008
The partnership with AJ Rickoff continued its year chapter encouraged the students to take the Ohio Achievement Test (OAT) in the spring by creating and donating gift baskets to raffle off to students who participate. In collaboration with the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team and KeyBank, a computer room was created at the school. A career day was organized that featured local African Americans in many fields, including medical, health, architecture, education, cultural financial and civic. A Saturday CPR class for students and their families to learn this vital service was conducted in partnership with the Cleveland Clinic. The students participated in field trips to University Circle cultural institutions. To kick off the third year of the partnership in the fall, chapter members donated a wide array of school supplies to the children. The chapter also had a reception at the Museum of Contemporary Art for the exhibition of photographs by noted photographer Sheila Pree Bright. Many members of the chapter walked in the Komen Race for the Cure walkathon on a rainy Cleveland day.
2009
The chapter collaborated with the Teen group of the Cleveland chapter of Jack & Jill of America to provide tutoring services to the children at AJ Rickoff School. Field trips were also arranged for the children to Cleveland House of Blues and the NASA campus. The chapter also participated in the Komen Race For the Cure walkathon for the second year. The chapter hosted the opening night performance of James Weldon Johnson’s ‘God’s Trombones’ at Karamu Theatre for members, guests and families. The chapter agreed to continue its partnership with AJ Rickoff for a fourth year.
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