Our Program Facets: Areas and Chapters embrace programs to transform lives in our communities through five facets:

National Trends and Services:

This facet provides community programs that increase awareness of the issues that affect the quality of life for African-Americans.  The Columbia (MD) Chapter provides funds to support community based organizations such as Meals on Wheels, The Fuel Fund and The Food Bank.  The Chapter also provides blankets annually to a homeless shelter and is working to provide a technology center at the shelter so that the children and adults can have training and access to current technology.  Members engage the elders of the community through visits to various assisted living facilities, providing entertainment, games and gifts to senior citizens.

Services to Youth:

This facet focuses on providing innovative and transformational programming which contributes proven results to key education or social community issues.  The Columbia (MD) Chapter provides scholarships to Howard County high school students annually (over $100,000 in the past 20 years).  The Chapter donates to an endowment at Howard Community College in the name of Chapter Co-Organizer, Celonia B. Walden. The Chapter has also provided new library books to a school ravaged by Hurricane Katrina.  More recently, the Chapter has provided a Math, Engineering and Science Achievement (MESA) program at Jeffers Hill Elementary School.  We also mentor young ladies, ages 9 -18, through a partnership with The Columbia Teen Center.

International Trends and Services:

This facet's mission is to expand the global platform for programs designed to serve the educational, health and cultural needs of people of African descent throughout the world.  The Columbia (MD) Chapter has supported AfriCare for many years.  
The Chapter has held international teas to provide awareness of international issues. The Chapter has also donated "Mamma kits" to help alleviate the problems of neonatal mortality in partnership with the World Health Organization and emergency kits to women affected by the earthquake in Haiti. More recently, The Chapter has developed a partnership with Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands to support their mission.

The Arts:

The Links, Incorporated has a strong and rich history of support for the performing and visual arts.  Since 1989, The Columbia (MD) Chapter has organized its annual Peabody Concert, featuring classical, jazz and gospel music provided by students and alumni of the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hopkins University through a partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.  The Chapter also provided an opportunity for students at Bonnie Branch Middle School to attend "master classes" with students from the Peabody Conservatory.

Health and Human Services:

This facet was approved at the National Assembly in 2010.  The Columbia (MD) Chapter has contributed funds to support Howard County General Hospital, has supported fundraising efforts for The Cancer Center and provided workshops on Medical Genealogy and Organ Donation.  The Chapter has provided a "Make Health a Habit" program at Running Brook Elementary School and Bonnie Branch Middle School. More recently, the Chapter has provided a childhood obesity prevention program, Can You Imagine Me?, at several venues in Howard County.  The Chapter has also organized a mental health summit, focusing on managing stress and depression.