A TASTE OF NEWARK BENEFITS LINK COMMUNITY SCHOOL AND HONORS PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL
Link Community School held its annual fundraising gala, A Taste of Newark, on Wednesday, November 12, 2008, at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Over 400 guests, including Newark’s Mayor Cory Booker, shared in the festivities commemorating a special milestone in the school’s history -- Link’s 40th anniversary, while also honoring its long-time partner---Prudential Financial, which has provided support to Link over many years.
At the reception which took place in a huge tent, guests feasted on various cuisines generously provided by twenty restaurants from the area, while perusing and bidding on numerous silent auction items donated from Link’s supporters. For the evening portion of the program, guests proceeded to the Victoria Theater for a heartwarming student performance featuring the school’s Boys’ Chorus and the African Dancers. Attendees were treated to a sneak preview of a new film, A Matter of Justice, which Link commissioned for its 40th anniversary. The film showed the history and legacy of the school as seen through the eyes of the founders, students, family, alumni, trustees, teachers and staff.
Nicole Glass, Link Class of ‘99, graduate of Wharton School of Business at UPenn, and now employed as a financial analyst at Citigroup served as this year’s event alumni speaker. Addressing the assembled guests about the impact Link had on her life, Nicole saw Link as the place where lives are changed for the better noting that “receiving full scholarships to attend a boarding school and an Ivy League University, studying abroad in Spain, learning fluent Spanish, and traveling throughout Europe--all these things became a reality for me because of this small school in Newark, LINK COMMUNITY SCHOOL.” The evening concluded with a Live Auction with NJ Assemblyman Jon Bramnick serving as the auctioneer.
Link Principal Marnie G. McKoy thanked Shane Harris, Prudential Foundation Program Officer representing the evening’s honoree, Prudential Financial, for their 16 years of generous support saying that “…children are one of our greatest natural resources and we honor Prudential for helping us invest in them.”
Link Community School is an independent middle school in the Central Ward of Newark offering an excellent middle school education to youth with a range of academic abilities from families of limited means in Newark and the surrounding area |
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