Triangle Park (NC) Links: Celebrating 35 Years Of Linking Service, Friendship & Philanthropy
Research Triangle Park, NC – In lieu of their signature White Rose Luncheon, the Triangle Park Chapter (TPC) of The Links, Incorporated held a black-tie event to commemorate the Chapter’s milestone. Established on June 9, 1984, TPC hosted its 35th Anniversary Gala on June 8, 2019, at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel in Durham, NC.
Attended by over 700 guests, members of TPC did not let the festivities deter them from their mission…raising funds in support of their service initiatives. The Chapter endeavors to serve the community, locally and globally, through five facets: The Arts, Services to Youth, Health and Human Services, National Trends and Services, and International Trends and Services. Employing “Creative Philanthropy” – an on-line donation process during the event – over $13,000 was raised.
Under the guidance of Lulu Robinson, Rebecca Edmonds, Lucille Webb, and most notably, the late Dr. Helen G. Edmonds, Fifth National President of The Links, Inc., the Triangle Park Chapter, The Links, Inc. was chartered in 1984. The twenty-six charter members hailed from Durham, Orange and Wake Counties, and coalesced to address the community needs of their respective locales. Vivian Edmonds, Editor of The Carolina Times at that time, became the first Triangle Park (NC) Chapter president of the Triangle Park Chapter. Under her capable leadership, the Chapter began a legacy of providing meaningful service to the local community and abroad.
During the past thirty-five years, the Triangle Park Chapter has grown to fifty-two members under the inspiring leadership of seventeen dynamic presidents. As a volunteer community service organization, TPC is committed to civic, educational and cultural activities that serve the needs and improve the lives of children and families of the surrounding Triangle area. Each year has brought new challenges as the Chapter embraces community service projects that span their 5 facets.
Under the National Trends and Services Facet, TPC has volunteered with Wake County and Orange County Habitat for Humanity to help build homes in the East College Park Community in Raleigh, and the Northside Community in Chapel Hill. One of their programs, which encompassed several of the facets, provided an after-school initiative called the Triangle Park Chapter Academy of Arts and Humanities. This program served the children at the Global Scholars Academy in Durham, and provided tutoring, mentoring, musical enrichment, and several forms of artistic expression. Other Chapter projects targeted the college population. As part of the National Links HBCU Initiative, the Triangle Park Chapter has adopted St. Augustine’s University, providing workshops, mentoring and over $12,000 in scholarships to its students.
TPC’s Integrated Program, led by the Services to Youth Facet and supported by The Arts, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services includes tutoring, mentoring, art, music and dance, as well as, personal health and development. Another program led by the Health and Human Services Facet – “Kids Cook with Heart” – addressed childhood obesity and healthy nutrition. Both of these programs served children at Reaching All Minds STEM Academy in Durham.
In addition, the Triangle Park Chapter, in collaboration with the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC, addresses food insecurity in students at Burton Elementary School. For more than eleven years, they have distributed backpacks filled with nutritious food for the students to take home each weekend during the school year. The above initiatives were recognized as “Best Practices” programs by the Southern Area of The Links, Incorporated, in 2017. At the 2019 Southern Area Conference, the National Trends and Services Facet won the 2nd place award for its Women Running for Public Office, “Get Out the Vote,” and Links Day at the Capital programs.
The Triangle Park Chapter has remained steadfast in their overarching goal to make a significant and positive difference in the communities they serve; while drawing upon the talent, expertise, woman power, financial resources, and wisdom of its members, in partnership with people of generosity and goodwill.
Working together, the Chapter vows to continue to achieve their humanitarian and philanthropic goals.
DiJuana McDougal, Triangle Park Chapter President, states, “The Triangle Park Chapter will expand its presence in the Durham, Orange, and Wake Counties. We will continue to foster relationships with community partners and sponsors as we fulfill the promise to provide transformative and sustainable programming.”
McDougal goes on to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
For more information, visit www.triangleparklinks.org
Highlights of the Triangle Park Chapter (TPC) of The Links, Incorporated 35th Anniversary Gala (Photos: Submitted):
