Members of the Roanoke (VA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, collected and filled diaper bags with baby items as part of a community-wide effort to help families in need. The bags — brimming with baby clothes, pacifiers, bibs, and of course, diapers — were distributed, with dozens more donated diaper bags, during the 2nd Annual Diaper Bag Drive, held Oct. 23 at the Jamestown Place housing development in southeast Roanoke.
The annual drive is sponsored by Brenten Woody and his family in honor of Amarah Lane, Brenten’s daughter, who died in August 2018 from injuries attributed to child abuse. Since then, in Amarah’s memory and in an effort to spread joy and positivity to others, the Roanoke family has collected diaper bags full of baby items to donate to families in need.
“This is a very loving and caring family,” said Anita James Price, a member of the Roanoke Links chapter and chair of the chapter’s Services to Youth Facet. “They took this tragedy in their family and have used it to help other families in need. When the Roanoke Links were asked to help with donations, they rallied together quickly, and beautifully with an abundance of items in recognition of this family’s very caring and moving cause.”
The Links, Incorporated is an international, not-for-profit corporation, established in 1946. The membership consists of more than 16,000 professional women of African descent in 292 chapters located in 41 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 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.
President of the Roanoke (VA) Chapter is Carolyn Patterson. Vice President is Rhonda Poindexter.