THE ARTS
NATIONAL TRENDS AND SERVICES
The National Trends and Services facet is tasked with eliminating disparities by reducing barriers to resources through advocacy, education, and service. Our chapters are empowered to raise their voices and transform the communities in which they work. The facet’s goals include increasing the number of sustainable and measurable programs; increasing collaborative partnerships; and extending our existing initiatives to include communities identified as having the greatest need. Currently, National Trends and Services encompasses the following programs and committees with national partners and sponsors, and serves as a catalyst for change, promoting individual and community empowerment.
Our Rising Stars mentees have had the opportunity to spend the day at New Orleans City council. This hands-on experience allowed our mentees to learn about our judicial process.
A DAY AT CITY COUNCIL
VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVES
Over the past few years, The Pontchartrain Chapter of The Links, Incorporated has hosted several voter registration drives at high schools such as McMain High School and Edna Karr High School. We've even hosted a drive at Delgado Community College. We're proud to say we've been able to help register over 300 students.
Since 2015, our chapter has partnered with a local high school to administer a Model United Nations Program. Each year we are partnered with a 10th-grade world geography class and coordinate with the teacher on integrating our proposed Model United Nations activities into the official curriculum. We've taken two young women who had the highest scores on their Model United Nations position paper submissions to the United Nations in New York to participate (in-person) in the Remember Slavery Global Student Videoconference. This was a three-hour session which culminated with a tour of the United Nations facilities.
We have also hosted sessions where we discussed position paper topics, and students selected their preferred countries from a list provided by the World Geography teacher and each student made a placard representative of their respective country. Our work doesn't stop there, we do an overview of the United Nations where we discuss the six organs of the United Nations and cover Model United Nations vocabulary through word search puzzles. We cover the history of the United Nations, each country’s member allotment, committee assignments, the Big Ten, and committee purposes.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
LINKS DAY AT THE CAPITOL
Annually during our seven states’ respective legislative sessions, Southern Area chapters and members participate in Links Day at the Capitol. Under the direction of our Legislative Affairs and Disaster Relief Chair, Denise Cooper, the goal is to enact long-term change for the betterment of our communities.
Envisioned by Margaret Thompson Johnson, 16th Southern Area Director, Links Day at the Capitol (LDAC) was established to galvanize Links members and Chapters across the breadth of the Southern Area. Engaging communities and utilizing strategic coalitions, the initial work of LDAC provided an opportunity for members to work toward ensuring that legislation was in place to eliminate health disparities in states across the Southern Area, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and South Africa. Additionally, the thrust was to motivate legislators to strengthen and more effectively enforce and fund legislation to help eliminate health disparities.
Today, LDAC is not only a Southern Area initiative but has spread throughout Linkdom. The well-anticipated event has expanded to not only engage and empower but to educate as well. It is an opportunity for our sisters to gather from around the state and to advocate in one voice to have the rallying call of our legislative priorities heard. Our administration’s priorities include closing the gap in foster care, the juvenile justice system, the 2020 Census, Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Initiatives, and breast health legislation
