The Madison Metropolitan Chapter of The Links, Incorporated will host the 8th Annual Community Recognition and Scholarship Jazz Brunch Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Madison Crowne Plaza Hotel where they will honor five individuals and one organization for their tremendous contributions to the greater Madison community.

Proceeds from this annual event will benefit the Chapter to award scholarships to outstanding young students in 2018. The Links present those scholarships to students at their annual African-American Student Recognition Program at Madison College in May.

“These scholarships are very important. So many students don’t actually have the financial means to go to college, so these scholarships mean a lot to the students and their families,” Corinda Rainey-Moore, the co-chair of this year’s scholarship luncheon along with Karen Moser and Charlie Daniel, tells Madison365. “That’s what makes Jazz Brunch fundraiser so special. The event is also like a family reunion because you see people that you haven’t seen in a while coming out into the community and it’s all for a good cause. There’s something about having a big group of people in a room together dressed up in nice suits and nice dresses. It’s a beautiful sight to see.”

Charlie Daniel (right) and Corinda Rainey-Moore have both been Links since the mid-90s.

The event will feature live jazz from award-winning Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble, door prizes and a $500 cash giveaway. Individuals and an organization will be recognized for their strong contributions to the community and beyond, preferably in one or more of the Links’ five program areas: The Arts, National Trends and Services, International Trends and Services, Health and Human Services, Services to Youth. It’s a difficult job every year for the Links to select the honorees out of so many great Madisonians.

“Each Link comes with a list of people and they talk about why each person should get the award. The challenging part is to vote and narrow down who should get the awards,” Rainey-Moore explains. “We had so many great candidates this year. But I’m really excited about the people that we chose to receive awards at the brunch this year, the work that they are doing in our community and the diversity that they bring to the table.”

Oscar Mireles will be honored at the 8th Annual Community Recognition and Scholarship Jazz Brunch.

This year’s honorees will include Barbara Franks, Oscar Mireles, Sheila Stubbs, Dr. Girma Tefera, Dr. Makeba Williams, and Access Community Health Center.

“We are so excited about the awardees,” Rainey-Moore says. “We’re really excited that our band this year is going to be students from Sun Prairie – the Sun Prairie Jazz Ensemble. It’s very nice to be involving the youth and to showcase their talents and their expertise at this great annual event. They’ve been traveling across the country as a band, so now our community will be able to hear them as well.”

The keynote speaker this year will be Norah Ntambi, who was a Links scholarship winner back in 2012. The Links try to keep in touch with as many former scholarship winners as they can.

“Norah is now a first-year medical student at UW-Madison,” Daniel says. “I think she’s going to talk a little bit about how the funds that she received from her Links’ scholarship really helped her and a little bit about where she is now in her life.”

Shelia Stubbs will be honored at the 8th Annual Community Recognition and Scholarship Jazz Brunch

The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 15,000 professional women of color in 283 chapters located in 41 states, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. It is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer service organizations of extraordinary women who are committed to enriching, sustaining and ensuring the culture and economic survival of African Americans and other persons of African ancestry.

Both Daniel and Rainey-Moore have been Link members since the mid-90s.

“What I love about being a Link is the sisterhood. It’s about building women and girls. We really support our community and want to have an impact on our community,” Rainey-Moore says. “For example, this year we collected blankets for people who are homeless. We also collected supplies for girls in Africa. We really want to have a both a local and an international impact. These are all things that I’m really passionate about.”

The Links are really busy on the local level. They host the “Yes, I Can” Girls Conference every year for middle school students, an art poster competition, and have a music appreciation partnership with the Madison Symphony.

“This year, I am the chair of the Health and Human services so we’re going to be doing different health disparities programs throughout the year, too,” Daniel says.

Every year, the Links recognize students at their annual African-American Student Recognition Program. This is one of their most important student-related endeavors where the Madison Links present almost 1,000 certificates of recognition to K-12 African-American students — elementary, middle, and high school — in the local area upon recommendation by their teachers.

The Links provide scholarships for talented students of color who aspire to higher education at this event from the money raised at the Jazz Brunch.

Dr. Jasmine Zapata with young women at last year’s Links’ “Yes, I Can” Conference.

“I love the fundraising aspect of being a Madison Link because what we do with these funds is that we give out scholarships to worthy students. These are all restricted funds and money we raise goes right into the scholarship funds,” Daniel says.

The Links have awarded over $160,000 in scholarships, U.S. Savings Bonds and bookstore gift cards to more than 500 students over the years. This Jazz Recognition Brunch serves as the primary funding source for its scholarship program.

“It’s an annual event for young and old alike, for families and single people and for people of all races,” Rainey-Moore says. “The intergenerational aspect of the event is something I really love. It’s important for the kids to see adults there supporting our youth. The kids need to see that the community is rallying behind them.

“At this event, we do tend to see a lot of the great community people that we do always see who are supporting youth academic achievement. I would love to see new faces at the event this year,” Daniel says. “I think it’s such a great opportunity to give back to the community. When you purchase the ticket for the event you can be sure that that money will go to a deserving student. That’s our main premise.”

You can contact any member of the Links for tickets.

“You often hear people say that ‘there’s not a lot to do in Madison.’ Well, here’s something wonderful and fun to do,” Rainey-Moore says, “but it’s also a great way to engage, network, and meet people outside of your normal circle where you can actually potentially build a network of people to help you enhance your career. Most of the people at the brunch are professionals and all of us Links work in various professional areas in the community.

“But you also get to see and hear from students who have benefited from the scholarships at this event and those stories are always very touching and powerful,” she adds.

The Madison Metropolitan Chapter of The Links, Incorporated will host their 8th Annual Community Recognition and Scholarship Jazz Brunch will take place Saturday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 4402 E. Washington Ave. Reservations can be made from any Links member or order online here.