2023-2024
Program Year
Mother's Day Luncheon 2023
Back To School Jam Brings Community Together
Chapter Officers:
Maredia Dionne Warren
Elected Chapter President
Our 15 Annual Mother's Day Luncheon was held on May 6 at The Venetian in Garfield, NJ. It was a sold out event with close to 500 in attendance. Eight incredible students received generous scholarship awards and three extraordinary trailblazers were honored for their work in our communities. Links Kathy Dow and Tina Wynn served as co-chair. Please flip through our program book below to learn more about our chapter, our signature event and the wonderful folks who support us. You can also watch the videos of our honorees HERE.
Maredia Dionne Warren was elected the Chapter's President succeeding Tammy King who served two terms. Maredia had previously served as the Vice President handling membership activities and leading meetings in Tammy's stead. A successful development officer, Maredia is on the Institutional Giving and Grants Management team at Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation where she serves as the Manager of Institutional Giving. Maredia will be joined by newly elected Recording Secretary Darla Miles Jeffries and newly elected Treasurer Tianna Barnes.
Chapter Honors First President
Theodora Smiley Lacey Receives Legacy Award at 15th Annual Mother's Day Luncheon
Legacy Awardee Theodore Smiley Lacey with Chapter President Tammy King
The Links, Incorporated Celebrate 75 Years with "The Invitation"
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Maredia Dionne Warren
President
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Althea Avery
Vice President
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Tiannia Barnes
Treasurer
Jasmine Franklin
Financial Secretary
Darla Miles Jeffries
Recording Secretary
Tara Edmonds
Corresponding Secretary
Kathy Zeno
Program Coordinator
Christine Fowler-Phillips
Protocol Officer
Valerie M. Hamer
Parliamentarian
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Are you on the social networks? So are we and we invite you to connect with us on Facebook.
It's Back to School 2023 and the chapter joined other community groups helping middle school students from Hackensack, NJ get ready for the new school year. The Back to School Jam offered school supplies as well as fun and games to area students who will return to the classroom after Labor Day. Watch the fun below.
Theodora Smiley Lacey, the chapter's charter member and first president received the Legacy Award at this year's annual luncheon. The Platinum member and civil rights activist continues to be an active member of the chapter as well as a mentor to scores of new members. Theodora's glorious history includes her civil rights work in her hometown of Montgomery, Alabama where she helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott with her close friend and ally Rosa Parks. She also marched along side the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and their friendship continued until his untimely death in 1968. You can watch the tribute to this extraordinary Link HERE.
New Jersey Cluster Celebrates
Founders' Day
In 1946, Co-Founders Margaret Rosell Hawkins and Sarah Strickland Scott invited seven of their friends to form the Philadelphia Club. The aim: “to do some good to help less fortunate citizens, raise the cultural level of our race, and to enjoy the social company of our friends,” Hawkins said. Hosted by the Morris County (NJ) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, members from all over the Garden State came together to greet each other and welcome our National and regional officers as we commemorated our rich history of friends transforming communities through service.
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Chapter Promotes Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease
The Bergen County (NJ) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated has received a Black K.A.R.E. Initiative sub-grant to help raise awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Black communities. Learn more about the initiative here and find out how you can reduce the risk of kidney failure and improve outcomes for people living with the condition.
Watch Our Video from "The Night of Dance".
In 1946, when Philadelphia educators Margaret Rosell Hawkins and Sarah Strickland Scott co founded the Links, Inc. — their vision for an intercity volunteer service organization for professional women of African descent — they did so with the help of just seven friends. Today, the Links has grown to more than 16,000 members (including Vice President Kamala Harris) in 299 chapters across the country, the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom, who log more than one million hours a year in service to their communities and to ensure the cultural and economic survival of African Americans and others of African ancestry. Watch the trailer below for "The Invitation", the highly touted documentary on the history of The Links, Incorporated. The Bergen County (NJ) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated was founded in 1974.
Area Teens Earn Scholarship Awards
Eight local teens received generous scholarship awards at this year's Mother's Day Luncheon.
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Nina Jeffries-El
(Bergen County Academies)-The Arts Facet Award
Ellen Kyeremeh
(Hackensack HS)-The HHS Award
Jasmine Lockwood
(Hackensack HS)-National Trends and Services Award
Kendall Adkins
(Paramus Catholic HS) Spirit and Service Award
Alycia Brown
(HackensackHS) Jacquelyn Styles Memorial Award
Nia Gooden-Johnson
(Teaneck HS) The Hadnott Family Foundation Award
Shannon-Milan Lambert
(Teaneck HS) The Harold Hall Memorial Award
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Gabriel Beidleman (Bergen Catholic HS)
The Ina J. Samuels Martinez Award
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©2023 Bergen County Chapter of the Links, Incorporated