INDIANAPOLIS — Each week on Community Link, Carolene Mays takes a look at an organization or business that is making a positive impact on the community.

This week, Mays was joined by Jarnell Burks-Craig and Una Osili to talk about how the Indianapolis chapter of The Links Incorporated is celebrating 75 years of friendship, service and community impact with a series of events culminating in its Diamond Jubilee Gala on Sunday, Nov. 15.

The gala will run from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Indiana Roof. Tickets cost $150, and tables of 10 cost $1,500. Pat Russell McCloud, the organization’s 11th national president, will serve as master of ceremonies.

The chapter will honor Clarence Crain, Alan Mills and Dr. Aleesia Johnson as Celebrity Barbecue and Grill honorees. Kristen Mays-Carbot will receive the Indiana Women Warriors Award, a new honor presented through The Links.

“Guests can expect an amazing evening, a celebration of The Links, but also a celebration of leadership and service to the community,” Una Osili said.

“The Links have a large impact in our community in the arts, in health care, but even internationally working across borders,” Osili said. “So come prepared for an evening of elegance, of celebration and service.”

The Links was founded 80 years ago by friends Margaret Hawkins and Sarah Scott to support the African American community, Jarnell Burks-Craig said. The national organization is celebrating its 80th anniversary this weekend.

“They came together to enrich, sustain, and ensure that there are improvements within the African American community,” Burks-Craig said.

The organization began with seven women on the East Coast who brought together seven more friends, she said. “We can do better. We can volunteer. And that is what The Links Incorporated is all about.”

The Links now has more than 17,000 members in 305 chapters across the United States, Burks-Craig said. Members are required to complete 48 hours of Links service each year.

“Every member of the organization is required to do 48 hours every year,” she said. “These are busy professional women, but they have to pause and do Links service for at least 48 hours a year.”

The Indianapolis chapter follows the national organization’s vision, which Burks-Craig described as “linked in friendship and connected in service.”

As part of its yearlong anniversary celebration, the chapter hosted a conversation with seven former national presidents.

“Each with their own perspective, each with their own theme,” Burks-Craig said. “Each were committed to making sure whatever they did, it would benefit the organization as a whole.”

The chapter invited the community to attend the gala and celebrate its work. “It is going to be a very memorable evening,” one of the guests said. “There will be a lot to celebrate and, as we said, a record of service and accomplishments in our community.”

The interview was part of WISH-TV’s Community Link. Viewers can share the story or learn more at wishtv.com.