American Baptist College (ABC) receives $5,000 from the Central Area of the Links, Incorporated following its 45th Central Area Conference, held July 31-Aug. 4 in Nashville at the iconic Opryland Hotel.
Dr. Forrest Harris, President of ABC said, “We deeply appreciate these funds to further assist our students. This support shows we are profoundly linked.” President Harris spoke at the opening session of the conference.
“Nashville is a great city, but like every city, there are needs that remain unmet,” said 19th Central Area Director Glenda Masingale Manson. “We selected Nashville for our conference because it is a wonderful place to visit, but we didn’t just want to come here simply for fun, we wanted to make an impact and give back something to help those in this community who need a little support. And there is no more worthy a cause than supporting young people and education.”
The Central Area Links, Inc. provided support to the city’s four Historically Black Colleges and Universities, in support of their emergency funds for students. Additionally, two Metro Nashville Public Schools also received funds. The state of Tennessee ranks sixth in the nation for the largest number of HBCUs. There are seven across the state, and four of these historic institutions are in Nashville.
“The fact that the Central Area of the Links donated funds to ABC speaks volumes,” said Dr. Harris. “Their belief, support and care, shows we are valuable to them,” he added.
ABC is a higher education institution with a liberal arts emphasis, whose mission is to educate, graduate and prepare diverse students for Christian leadership, service and social justice in the world.
About American Baptist College American Baptist College, founded in 1924, celebrates the 95th anniversary of the college and the 20th anniversary of Dr. Harris as President this year. The college will recognize these two milestones events with the President’s Scholarship Gala on Thursday, October 10, at the Downtown Renaissance Hotel, and a prelude event recognizing Mrs. Harris as First Lady on Saturday, September 28, at 11:30 a. m. at the Meharry Medical College, Cal Turner Educational Center. For information about the anniversary events, please contact Dr. Phyllis Qualls @ 615.687.6921 or visit the website at abcnash.edu.
About The Links, Incorporated
The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The organization’s membership consists of more than 15,000 professional women of color in 288 chapters across 42 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and the United Kingdom. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry. Links members contribute more than one million documented hours of community service annually concentrated in five facet areas: Services to Youth, The Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, and Health and Human Services, implemented through strategies such as public information and education, economic development, and public policy campaigns. The organization is the recipient of awards from the UN Association of New York and the Leon H. Sullivan Foundation for its premier programs. For more information, visit linksinc.org or centralarealinks.org