This is the October 2026 edition of the programming newsletter for the Columbia (SC) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. It is written for chapter members and focuses on the theme "Service Driven Through Impactful Programming." The newsletter outlines the chapter's literacy initiatives, community partnerships, and upcoming events for the 2026-2027 programming year. The document opens with a…
This is the October 2026 edition of the programming newsletter for the Columbia (SC) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated. It is written for chapter members and focuses on the theme "Service Driven Through Impactful Programming." The newsletter outlines the chapter's literacy initiatives, community partnerships, and upcoming events for the 2026-2027 programming year.
The document opens with a table of contents and a section titled "Building Momentum: Programming in the Fast Lane," which discusses the importance of early childhood literacy. It cites data that nearly 2 in 3 children are not reading at grade level by age 10 and emphasizes the role of read-alouds in grades 3-5 to support learning and foster a love of reading.
The newsletter details the chapter's "Connect Five Smart Goals," which include providing read-aloud sessions to at least 300 students at Carver Lyon and distributing 750 age-appropriate books to students in grades 3-5 by the end of the school year. It also covers the Jubilee Festival and Literacy Initiative, a partnership with Historic Columbia that offered children STEM demonstrations, book giveaways, smoothie-making, opera read-alouds, and a civic engagement mural project.
Additional sections cover Services to Youth, Health and Human Services (including a Walk and Voter Awareness event), International Trends (with a Peace Pole installation for International Peace Day and a letter exchange with a school in Nairobi, Kenya), National Trends and Services (Democracy in Action), and The Arts (including lap quilts, read-alouds, and planning for opera assemblies and an art contest). The newsletter concludes with a calendar of upcoming programming and a salute to the…