Kimberly Noble

President

Los Angeles (CA) Chapter,

The Links, Incorporated

Welcome to the website of the Los Angeles (CA) Chapter of the Links, Incorporated!

We are so excited and have been waiting for this moment for almost two years. We will be meeting in person and we are more than ready. While our upcoming 70th Cotillion and Leadership Institute will be hybrid, in-person and virtual, we are overjoyed to reconvene as we have over the years, for the Cotillion and for some of the workshops. Though we still need to practice safety protocols, we are grateful to know we will be able to greet each other in person. 

We have much for which to be thankful. Our dynamic co-founders, Link Margaret Rosell Hawkins and Link Sarah Strickland Scott created a women’s organization that was far reaching and had a tremendous impact. The growth and the power of the Links, Incorporated has changed lives and transformed communities. Since 1946, we have gone quite a distance from the original conversation in which our founders engaged, always centered around service and our core tenets of friendship. While our focus has not changed, we grow and enhance our programming based on the needs of the community. The Links, Incorporated was organized with the vision of forming a strong chain of women linked together for a threefold common purpose: (1) To help women better understand and assume their civic responsibilities internationally, nationally, and through local chapters; (2) To encourage cultural appreciation through the arts and to develop enriched intergroup relationships; (3) To help its membership provide opportunities for the enrichment of personal friendships. The “Links” is symbolic not only as a chain of friendship but as a chain of purpose.

Organized in 1950, the Los Angeles Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, has extended the “Links” friendship chain into the Los Angeles community. The Los Angeles Chapter has been an intricate fiber in our local tapestry of life, as a vital support in the often frayed safety net for community organizations and programs. We are proud of the contributions we have made to our community through continuing support of our members and friends. The Links, Incorporated, is an international organization and we are enormously proud of being a part of more than 16,000 women in chapters across the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. The cornerstone of the Links has been its commitment to providing educational, cultural, and civic support to communities through its five facets: Services to Youth, National Trends and Services, The Arts, International Trends and Services and Health and Human Services.   

The Cotillion this year is especially meaningful to the Los Angeles Chapter as it is our 70th Cotillion. We are very proud to present thirteen lovely and talented Cotillionettes. One of the most important events in your daughter’s life will be her coming of age experience. The Los Angeles Chapter of the Links, Incorporated is pleased you have selected our organization through which your young lady will make her debut. In a day and time when there are so few positive experiences in the community and the world at large, it gives us great pleasure to help parents say to their daughters, “You are special.”

As the beautiful young ladies prepare for the Cotillion, they have been participating in the Leadership Institute, the foundation of the Cotillion program and it is the signature program for the Los Angeles Chapter of the Links, Incorporated. During the Cotillion season, the thoughtfully planned virtual and face to face workshops included college and career readiness, healthy lifestyles, legal savvy, insight into the racial and social issues faced by African Americans led by Retired City Councilman, Robert Farrell, historically black colleges and universities’ overviews and pathways to global citizenship. The Cotillionettes earned their service hours by the community service project to “Get Out The Vote” as they created a video and flooded social media with the importance of our voice and our vote.

As the Los Angeles Chapter celebrates 70 years of unwavering service to the community, the 70th Cotillion Committee is pleased to launch the Cotillion Guild honoring the 70 years of Cotillionettes that have contributed over 5,000 hours of volunteering in our community. We thank 54th Street Elementary School for our Umbrella Project over these six years featuring The Colgate Dental Van, The Lion King, Jr. Production, and NSBE, Jr. to support female students in STEM to STEAM career pathways. We extend the greatest appreciation and thank you for the collaboration with our community partners: The Society, Incorporated and The YWCA of the Greater Los Angeles Area. We look forward to providing support throughout the Los Angeles community and in our national and global communities. The Los Angeles Chapter of the Links, Incorporated, would like to extend heartfelt gratitude to you, the parents of the Cotillionettes, for your support of us over the years. It is through your participation, our community partners, families, friends, and vendors that we have the foundation for our charitable giving and to assist those in need in our community. Thank you!