Stephanie Pugh

Chapter President
Shelby County (TN) Chapter
The Links Incorporated

From Our President:

A Message from Stephanie Pugh,
President
Shelby County (TN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated

Dear Friends, Partners and Community:

I am pleased to bring you greetings on behalf of the Shelby County (TN) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. I also extend my heartfelt thanks to all who have supported our many outreach initiatives.

As an organization dedicated to service, the dawn of each new day unveils opportunities to give our time, talents and resources to help build stronger, more vibrant communities. Since our inception in 1985, the Shelby County Chapter has continued to be a transformative and impactful champion for hope, healing and progress. The bold, innovative and dynamic women who chartered our Chapter nearly 40 years ago have made indelible footprints of service along local, national and global pathways.  Their legacies have been the “wind beneath our wings” as we’ve launched new opportunities to bring strength, enlightenment and stability to individuals and families who need our support.

We are proud, yet humbled that our Shelby County Chapter members are business and government leaders, healthcare professionals, educators, role models, mentors, and volunteers who are working for the “greater good” of our communities. And while our unwavering commitment to help improve lives is the bedrock of our Chapter’s identity, we never lose the common touch of friendship. It is through the bonds of friendship that we link our hearts and hands to collectively address the needs in our facet areas of Services to Youth, the Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services.

Our many community outreach programs include more than 30 years of continuous service to our Chapter’s adopted school, Double Tree Elementary, in Memphis, TN.  Our work includes tutoring sessions, career awareness programs, STEM projects, health and fitness initiatives, teacher appreciation events, Black History programs, onstage performances and coaching sessions via the Arts, cultural learning opportunities with international classrooms, and the list goes on. Our award-winning Project LITE initiative (Links Increase Technology Through Education) was done through our partnership with Kids in Technology and involved every student at our adopted school. The LITE program addresses the digital divide aligned with our National Services to Youth – STEMReady program.

Through our annual Leadership Academy and Beautillion, we work diligently to prepare teen males for success through programs focusing on work and school responsibility, goal-setting, health and fitness, financial literacy, communications and time management.  We take pride in the fact that over a period of three decades, more than 500 young males have been able to develop leadership skills, engage in community service, cultivate positive relationships, and learn the importance of ethics and integrity. The greatest outcome is that they are paying it forward by becoming productive and innovative citizens in numerous fields that add value to the quality of life within our city and region.  Additionally, we provide scholarships to college-bound young men via our Bobbie Vaulx Stokes scholarship program.

We are also proud of our Chapter’s engagement in support of our Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Our HBCUs continue to be pillars in driving impact, social change, and pathways to career opportunities for diverse students who will serve as role models for our next generation of leaders.

As the Shelby County Links celebrate nearly four decades of friendship and service, we count our many achievements as opportunities to stretch, grow and continue building bridges of hope, healing and progress that will impact our communities for generations to come.

Stephanie Pugh,

President