Foundation and Organization Perspective

The Western Area Links, Incorporated and the East Texas Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, Tyler, TX

Special Giving Areas of Interest

Western Area Links Endowment Scholarship, UNCF Jarvis Drive, and the Pioneer Hall of Fame and Preeminence Awards Gala

The goal of the East Texas Chapter of The Links, Incorporated is to promote and support Historically Black Colleges and Universities by supporting campus initiatives and fundraising efforts annually.

The Links, Incorporated, established the National HBCU Initiative at its 37th National Assembly to support and promote historically black colleges and universities. The goals of this initiative were initially aligned with those of the Obama Administration which called for measures to ensure a larger number of college graduates by the year 2020.

The Western Area promotes HBCUs through a variety of ways from individual chapter support, scholarships, and endowments to social media campaigns. The East Texas Chapter of The Links, Incorporated is a chapter within the Western Area and has enjoyed a great relationship with three HBCUs within the East Texas area for almost six decades. Since the service area for the chapter is Tyler, Longview, and Marshall, they continue to embrace a robust relationship with all three HBCUs. Moreover, the Western Area has established an endowed scholarship. The endowed scholarships exist in perpetuity, providing student support now and for future generations. Each spring, the chapter advertises its annual scholarship and by late summer students are notified of their selection. A preference is given to students intending to attend an HBCU in the fall. It is important for the East Texas Chapter to continuously give financially and civilly.

The East Texas Chapter has a special relationship with Jarvis Christian University. During the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years, the East Texas Chapter partnered with Jarvis concerning HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives, supported campus fundraising efforts, organized campus-wide Student Voter Registration Drives, volunteered with registration of COVID-19 vaccinations and assisted with COVAX community and campus clinics.