The Links, Incorporated National President Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, Ph.D. Receives The United States President’s Volunteer Service Lifetime Achievement Award

March 30, 2022 (WASHINGTON, DC) – Kimberly Jeffries Leonard, Ph.D., national president of The Links, Incorporated and The Links Foundation, Incorporated received the President’s Volunteer Service Lifetime Award on Sunday March 20th at the Army and Navy Club. Established in 2003, the President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA), issued by AmeriCorps and the Office of the President of the United States, is given to individuals in recognition of their exemplary citizenship through service. Along with Dr. Jeffries Leonard, Brigadier General Terrence A. Adams, Dr. Prudence Pollard, and Dr. Calvin B. Rock were also PSVA recipients.

The award is a testament to Dr. Jeffries Leonard’s lifelong commitment to impactful public service through community leadership and hands-on organizational participation. “I am truly humbled and honored to receive this special award,” Dr. Jeffries Leonard said. “It is my hope that this incredible recognition from President Biden serves to encourage others to also serve their communities through volunteerism. The habit of helping others sharpens our sense of purpose, shares our expertise and widens our network of those working toward the same good end.”

Dr. Jeffries Leonard’s volunteer service has transformed communities around the globe and empowered thousands of women and countless youth in the areas of health, economics, education and voting rights. As national president of The Links, Incorporated, a more than 16,000 member volunteer service organization, she sets the vision and example for the organization of civic-minded professional women who track over one million service hours annually.

Award nominations were submitted by Lowcountry Rice Culture Project (LRCP), a Charleston, SC non-profit founded by award-winning artist Jonathan Green. Dr. Kim Cliett Long, LRCP Executive Director, presented the PSVA to the four honorees. “We were elated to facilitate Dr. Jeffries Leonard’s nomination for this award,” said Dr. Cliett Long. “Her lifelong commitment to service at the local, state, national and international levels embodies the spirit and intent of the award. Her leadership in service is influential and will demonstrate to many others the importance of service to our fellow citizens.”

About The Links, Incorporated

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. For more information, visit www.linksinc.org.