Western Reserve (OH) Chapter Links, Incorporated, 30th Anniversary Program 2017

natural world and as a product of artistic creation. This multi-faceted program included collabora- tions with Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, The American Place Theatre of New York City, and Roots of American Music. We also partnered with The Sutphen School of Music, The Friends of the Sutphen School of Music, George Washington Carver Elementary School, the East Cleveland YWCA of Cleveland and The Cleveland Public School District. This program received a “Special Recognition” Award at The Links, Incorporated 2005 Central Area Conference. From 2008 through 2014, we partnered with the faculty and parents of the Warner Girls Leadership Academy, one of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District’s single gender schools. The partnership focused on leadership development and academic enrichment. During this six-year period, we budgeted over $60,000 to support this Umbrella program. Over that peri- od, we tutored young girls, assisting the school in improving its standing on the Ohio Achievement tests. We led forums engaging parents and grand- parents in dialogue about the unique challenges of raising girls in an urban environment. We estab- lished pen pal relationships between the Warner Wildflowers and students at St. Jude’s Academy in Uganda, as a means of connecting our Wild- flowers and the Ugandan students to the global village and enhancing their understanding of the world beyond their neighborhoods and villages. We created a Teacher’s Resource Library, making available books and resource tools that supported teachers in having state-of-the-art materials to support instruction. We commissioned renowned Cleveland artist Anna Arnold to create an iconic mural at the school’s entrance. This mural, greeting the girls each morning, shows a beautiful field of multi-colored flowers depicting the multi-talented and multi-faceted young girls of Warner. As the culmination of our partnership with Warner, in May, 2014, we donated $10,000 to purchase for the Wildflowers 60 Kindle PaperWhite eReaders -- each loaded with four books. The purpose of the Kindles was to introduce 4th and 5th graders to technology and enhance their reading experience. On November 21, 2014, the Warner Wildflowers, Head of School and Parents Organiza-

tion recognized the Western Reserve [OH] Chapter members at an Appreciation Breakfast. Follow- ing breakfast, there was a short program. Eight Warner Wildflowers shared their personal remarks and appreciation for the Kindles, the Links, and everything we have done at the school since its in- ception. One fifth grader remarked, “The Kindles have helped me be a better reader because if I don’t know a word, I can press on it and find out what it means.” A fourth grader added, “These Kindles help us want to read more and they make reading more exciting for us. Thank the Links for helping us grow.” In February, 2016, the Services to Youth Facet committed to donate $1000 to Warner Girls Leadership Academy to purchase more eBooks for the Kindles. HIV/AIDS Awareness. African Americans represent approximately 12% of the total US population, yet they account for 44% of all new HIV infections. Western Reserve (OH) Chapter is partnering with Recovery Resources and other local institutions to increase awareness about HIV/AIDS disease and HIV testing in the Greater Cleveland area. In July 2015, the CDC awarded a five-year, $4 million grant to the Cuyahoga County High Impact HIV Prevention (CCHIHP) to implement evidence-based interventions designed to impact HIV prevention by reducing high-risk behaviors among young (ages 13-29) African American males. The CCHIHP collaborative consists of Recovery Resources (the project lead’s agency and fiscal agent), Care Alliance Health Center and Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio. We have committed up to $75,000 over the next five years to support the CCHIHP’s HIV outreach and prevention efforts. In 2016, as part of our Growing Leaders program, the Chapter hosted two HIV/AIDS awareness symposiums featuring noted experts to facilitate intergenerational dialogue – an initial step in demystifying HIV/AIDS in the African American community.

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