The Links donate Covid-19 supplies to Melrose

Travis Flowers

Melrose staff accept COVID supplies from the St. Petersburg chapter of the Links. The Links donated face masks, hand sanitizer, cleaners, face shields and more.

Travis Flowers

At the beginning of this semester, the St. Petersburg chapter of the Links, Incorporated donated an assortment of Covid-19 supplies to Melrose Elementary School.

The Links are a public service organization made of African American women that are looking to help the community in any way that they can. They donated face masks, face shields, Lysol, hand sanitizer, cleaners, and other necessities like uniforms.

The Links’ Services to Youth facet aims to “prepare young people to succeed as healthy citizens in the global workforce and to promote healthy lifestyles within families and communities.”

The Links makes contributions to the community by volunteering and donating to different facets or causes. These can range “anywhere from voting to working with senior citizens,” explained Links member Lisa Benson. “We’ve worked with the African American health forum, we work with Haiti, Jamaica, and other parts of the world, and the arts,” said Benson. “We want to make sure that our culture is not only celebrated but it’s also elevated.”

 While some scholars might be interested in joining the links, they’ll have to wait. “It’s more for grown-ups and specifically women,” said Benson.