Pontchartrain Link Member Named one of CityBusiness' "Women of the Year"

Fifty honorees for the 2015 class of CityBusiness “Women of the Year” have been chosen, including Keely C. Thibodeaux, a member of the Pontchartrain Chapter of the Links, Incorporated. 

The 17th annual “Women of the Year” will be recognized at a noon Nov. 12 luncheon at the Hyatt Regency, when an overall Woman of the Year will be announced. A special insert spotlighting all “Women of the Year” honorees will run in the Nov. 27 issue of CityBusiness.

Read more:  http://neworleanscitybusiness.com/blog/2015/08/27/announcing-the-2015-class-of-women-of-the-year/#ixzz3k8W8uea7

Pontchartrain Chapter Member Tonia Moore Accepted to NOBEL Women 2015-2016 Leadership Class

Tonia Moore, Associate Director, Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living (TFL), is one of only twenty-two women throughout the U.S. selected to participate in the NOBEL Women 2015-2016 Leadership Class. 

The NOBEL Women Leadership Training and Educational Development Institute (NOBEL Women Leadership Institute) is an intense year long training program designed to help participants develop the expertise they need to become the leaders, strategists, and lead executives they desire.  The NOBEL Women Leadership Institute helps develop an educated, equipped and experienced workforce of Black women leaders.

About NOBEL Women 

Founded in 1985 to increase and promote the presence of Black women in government, NOBEL Women creates programming to advance the participation of Black women in the fields of public policy, public service and civic engagement; provides a network and support system for Black women in leadership; serves as a medium for thoughtful dialogue on issues of public interest between elected officials and stakeholders; and trains and educates women to assume government and/or corporate leadership roles. More information about NOBEL Women can be found at http://nobel-women.org. 

New Orleans City Council Recognizes the Pontchartrain Links and the Young Women of McDonogh #35 High School

On Thursday, February 26, 2015, young women from McDonogh #35 High School were honored by the City Council for their participation in the Pontchartrain Chapter of The Links, Incorporated's "Rising Stars" Program. Each girl was presented with a certificate and had a brief opportunity to witness city government in action by sitting in on the City Council Meeting for 45 minutes.

The honorees were accompanied by former Senator and Councilmember Diana Bajoie, Services to Youth Chair Centrell Alfred-Ewell, President Sarah Moody Thomas and other members of the Pontchartrain Chapter. The Rising Stars mentoring program strives to improve academic and social success through education, community development, and volunteerism.

Rising Star Mentor Program participants from McDonogh #35, along with Councilmember Ramsey, former Councilmember Diana Bajoie, Services to Youth Chair Centrell Ewell and other members of the Pontchartrain Chapter of  The Links, Incorporated.

District "C" Councilmember Ramsey said, "The young women from McDonough #35 High School have provided a great service to Links organization. These young women are role models for the youth of our City and an inspiration to all of us. I am proud to recognize these  outstanding young women and the Pontchartrain Chapter of the Links organization." 

Pontchartrain Chapter Serves as One of Three Hosts for 2015 Legislative Breakfast

The National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Greater New Orleans Chapter along with the Pontchartrain Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and the New Orleans Chapter of The Links, Incorporated hosted their 2015 Legislative Breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 21 from 9:30 a.m. to Noon. The event took place at the Algiers Regional Library. 

The forum, hosted at Algiers Regional Library, gave residents a chance to address New Orleans City Council members, asking for solutions to the social, economic and political disparities that directly impact the quality of life for African-Americans and other residents in New Orleans.

The Council Members were introduced by Pontchartrain Chapter member, former State Senator Diana Bajoie, chair of the National Trends and Services Committee. Pontchartrain Chapter member, WDSU News Anchor Gina Swanson, served as the moderator.

For more information about the discussion, click here.

Rising Stars Visit Touro Hospital

Pontchartrain Chapter members, along with mentees from the LINKS Reaching New Heights - Rising Stars Program, visited labs at Touro Hospital on January 13, 2015 to learn about medical laboratory science. The young ladies of the "Rising Stars" program are students at McDonogh 35 High School.

The visit included presentations from Pontchartrain Chapter member Link Lynn Bernal-Green along with other hospital staff on topics including, but not limited to, laboratory processing, the hematology laboratory, the blood bank, and microbiology.

The "Rising Star"s program was implemented at McDonogh 35 several years ago and is designed to encourage and support the academic, social and cultural development of its participants.

Pontchartrain Chapter Members of The Links, Incorporated Take Mission Trip to Haiti

With a purpose to empower women and positively impact children in Haiti, five members of the International Trends and Services Facet Committee of the Pontchartrain Chapter of The Links, Incorporated embarked upon a mission trip in December of 2014. Leila Eames, chair of the committee, along with members Kiana Mitchell, Tonia Moore, Keely Thibodeaux, and Shawnell Ware traveled to Haiti with the We Care Charitable Foundation, which visits the Grand Boulage Village in the country yearly to feed over 500 children and 300 adults.

"Because poverty and health inequity are experienced worldwide, the Pontchartrain Chapter sought to partner with organizations serving the impoverished outside the United States," said Sarah Moody Thomas, President of the Pontchartrain Chapter. "Our goal is to empower women abroad through health education to improve personal hygiene and promote health literacy. The trip to Haiti was one more step toward achieving our goal."

Along with volunteers from the foundation, the Pontchartrain Chapter members served food to the families as part of a Christmas Celebration and Mass, and staffed the Christmas Toy Giveaway. The mission trip to Haiti also provided a unique opportunity for the Pontchartrain Chapter members to personally disseminate 100 Women’s Survival Kits in the village. This year marked the distribution of more than 300 Kits since the Chapter’s launch of this initiative. The members then gave a brief presentation on the importance of personal hygiene and demonstrated the use of items in the survival kits. The session also included instruction on how to conduct breast self examination accompanied by a laminated pictorial for each woman.

"The success of our programming in Haiti, and our mission trip in 2014, was in large part a result of our partnership with the We Care Charitable Foundation," said Kiana Mitchell, the Pontchartrain Chapter’s Program Chair. "My chapter’s passion to service the women and children of Haiti has been longstanding. However,　our ability to efficiently put ‘boots on the ground’ and make a visual assessment was directly connected to the hospitality and accommodations provided by our partner.　 The mission was humbling on so many levels and I will forever have a special connection with the women in my Chapter who shared this experience with me."

In addition to the members’ service in Grand Boulage Village, they also visited the Foyer Espoir Pour les Enfants (FEPE) orphanage and school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which the Chapter has supported since 2011. The members provided each child with packs of undergarments and presented the school with school supplies. FEPE serves a resident population of over 25 children at the orphanage and more than 100 students in its school.

"The mission trip to Haiti was both a humbling and rewarding experience for all of us. It provided us the opportunity to bond with each other, while serving the less fortunate," said Leila Eames, Chair of the Pontchartrain Chapter’s International Trends and Services Facet Committee. "Putting smiles on the faces of the beautiful children of the village and orphanage made the journey fulfilling. Seeing the women of the village cherish the items in the ‘Women’s Survival Kits’ brought tears to our eyes."