Link Chapters

Are you interested in starting a chapter this Fall?  Did you meet the Nomads on tour?  Do you have questions about the LiNK chapter program?  Here are the gals that will be taking care of you.  

Working alongside both the Chapter Coordinator and the entire Tour crew (aka LiNK's Movement Department - "MVMT" for short) are two Movement Interns, Taylor and Quay!  

Meet Taylor:

Hi :) My name is Taylor Eldreth, I am 18 years old, and I am from Asheville, North Carolina. I actually just graduated high school last June! I heard about LiNK through a group of nomads that came to my school last spring. 

I chose to get involved because that would be the most challenging path I could have taken. I easily could have listened to my parents and went to college, but that just wasn't fulfilling to me. I wanted to actually make an impact after High School, and do something that all of my friends were NOT doing. LiNK was the best choice because it gives me the chance to make a difference in peoples lives and in doing that, I've met the most amazing people on the planet! I am so stoked to work with our Chapters and add some more as well :D

Meet Quay:

Hey There! My name is Quay (That's Kah-Way) and I am a Movement Intern for the Fall 2011 Semester here at LiNK! I am 20 years old and I am from Freehold, New Jersey. I joined the LiNK team after I met 3 really cool Nomads at a Hiding screening last fall. I am a Sophomore at Seton Hall University, I love music, traveling, and Fro-yo! 

As an undecided college student, I, like other college students, hit a part in my life where I really needed to acknowledge and consider what my contribution to the human culture would be while I am here on earth. Yeah, you can have some high paying job, drive the coolest cars, and own the biggest house, but what does that all mean knowing that there are people in this world that barely have access to the basic necessities. When I heard about what LiNK was doing for North Korean refugees, I immediately wanted to get involved the best way that I could. I love what I do here and everyday I gain more motivation to keep fighting for the freedom of these refugees in any way that I can! I am really excited to work with the LiNK Chapters during my internship. You guys are really amazing! Keep up the good work! 

If you're starting up a chapter this semester, get to know these lovely ladies!  Taylor will be working with all Southeast, Heartland, and Pacific Northwest chapter interests, and Quay will be the point of contact for chapter interest in the Norheast and Cal West regions.

Chapters, you've got a GREAT new fundraising tool coming your way this semester.  With the launch of the Reliance - LiNK's campaign to create a virtual network of activists - comes an online fundraising platform with which to raise funds for refugee rescue and support.

I encourage you all to use this new opportunity for individuals to fundraise on behalf of your chapter!  The money earned online can count toward your chapter goal, IF you create a team page for your chapter.  Here's how:

STEP 1: Create an individual fundraising page

Create an individual StayClassy page at http://www.stayclassy.org/link/create.  Let your page represent you by adding a picture of yourself, relevant videos, and text talking about why YOU support LiNK and The Reliance.

STEP 2: Create or join a team

Navigate to your individual page and find the box on the right-hand side that asks you if you want to create or join a team.  Click the box (or follow this link: http://www.stayclassy.org/link/select-team?fcid=123168), then use the drop-down menu to see if a team has already been created for your chapter.  

If a team has already been created for your chapter, join it and start fundraising!  If a team has NOT yet been created, contact your chapter president for permission to start one.  When you create the team page for your chapter, you'll be the Team Captain and responsible for maintaining the team fundraising page.  Make sure that the person in charge is okay with this!  

Team pages are customizable - add photos, video, and text.  Want to know what a good team page looks like?  Check out UCR LiNK: http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise/link-team?ftid=2327

In order for the funds raised online to be credited toward your chapter goal, all team names should include the words "LiNK Chapter" (ex: Purdue LiNK Chapter, or RBHS LiNK Chapter).

STEP 3: Share your page

Get your chapter members, classmates, friends, and family to join!  Your team page AND individual page can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter.  Anything that is raised by a member of your LiNK Chapter fundraising team will count toward your chapter goal.  Use this tool to help reach a larger network, get ahead in 2011 Chapter Competition, and rescue more refugees!  

Not only will your team fundraising page help your chapter get ahead in the Race is On to win a trip to South Korea, but also give individual members a shot at winning their own trip to SK.  Find out more: http://linkglobal.org/thereliance

This Fall there are more opportunities than ever to get involved with the North Korea crisis and LiNK.  You can be hands on and go on the road to spread awareness as a nomad or you can work internally with LiNK’s various programs as an intern.  

Want to know who's behind the scenes in the Chapters Department this summer?

You know those days when your job is just awesome?

Megan

LiNK Chapter Coordinator

After four weeks of training here at LiNK HQ, we finally said goodbye to all of our Spring 2011 Nomads!  

Our second tour of "Hiding" should be one of our best yet: 16 nomads, 5 routes, hundreds of screenings, and thousands of miles - all to inform people about the human rights crisis in North Korea.

This group of Nomads is pretty wonderful - already we know that they can endure almost anything that gets thrown their way.  Crazy cross-country drives, changing tour dates, broken-down vans, and even nearly-catastrophic accidents and black ice. (http://yfrog.com/gz290fij = !!!!!!) Despite these obstacles, Spring 2011 Nomads are ready to get the word out by telling the stories of North Korean refugees anywhere they can.

Will the Nomads be visiting you?  Visit www.linkglobal.org/tours to see where the Nomads are headed and to get your screening booked today! 

Just look at these lovely faces:

Announcing the 2011 Chapter Competition: The Race is On!

LiNK Chapters are flexing their fundraising muscles like never before: this year's goal is to raise enough money to rescue the final 46 refugees of TheHundred campaign.

Get ready for a year full of benefit concerts and bake sales - its a race to the finish line and there’s an exciting prize for the highest earners. The top fundraisers will be sending two of their members on a trip to South Korea! Chapters are competing for the chance to meet North Korean refugees, visit the DMZ, and learn about the North Korea crisis in the heart of the Korean peninsula.

Want to get in the game? Visit the "Win a Trip" tab to learn more about the 2011 Chapter Campaign and watch our hilarious campaign video here: The Race is On!

The Chapters program has seen some exciting changes this year.  For one, the launch of this website!  LiNK Chapters can now register and blog about their activities under the LiNK Chapter Website, as well as connect with and follow other chapters.  Besides the website, we also introduced fundraising incentives to reward our biggest moneymakers and encourage chapters to campaign harder. 

In October, chapters competed to win a visit from Joseph, a North Korean refugee resettled by LiNK on our first rescue mission.  In November, we offered a video chat with celebrity activists Laura and Lisa Ling to every chapter earning more than $500.

And in December, we counted up all the checks and found the final winners of our Grand Prize – a trip to the LiNK Headquarters in California during Summer 2011.  We had an unanticipated three winners – each of whom raised enough money to rescue a refugee.  Congratulations to University of Texas at Austin, University of Southern California, and University of San Diego!  We’re excited to meet two of your chapter members, show you around HQ, and fill you up with great ideas and North Korea knowledge.

LiNK Chapters, pat yourselves on the back for a great 2010 and get ready for more awesome things to come to come in 2011!

This year was an incredible year for LiNK, as well as for LiNK Chapters.

Through a combination of Nomad tours, generous donations, and the tireless efforts of LiNK Chapters, we were able to bring 22 North Korean refugees through the Underground and raise over $80,000 for TheHundred Campaign.  This means that we are over halfway to our goal of rescuing 100 refugees from hiding!  With the 22 rescued this year, and the funds already acquired to rescue 32 more, our focus for 2011 will be to rescue the final 46 refugees from hiding.

Want to know what else we’ve been up to?  Follow this link to see more of LiNK’s 2010 highlights: http://tinyurl.com/4jvwgqw

While on the road, the LiNK Nomads get to meet a ton of wonderful people and inspire them to make change in North Korea.

The West Nomads were lucky enough to meet someone at a "Hiding" screening who was ready to slim down her closet for a good cause.  By selling clothes, shoes, and accessories online, she raised enough money to single-handedly rescue a refugee!  Check out her blog and read her thoughts here: http://www.dollybeast.com/2010/11/05/oh-what-a-night/

Not only did all her clothing items find happy new homes, but the money raised benefits The Hundred and will help a North Korean refugee find freedom and safety.

I'm reminded how easy it is for such little things to make a difference - selling clothes and jewelry added up to fund the rescue of a North Korean refugee.

Yard sales, garage sales, and consignment sales are a great way to de-clutter your life and benefit a good cause!  Several LiNK Chapters have held yard sales this year and raised hundreds of dollars toward their respective $2500 goals.  So maybe try spring cleaning a little early this year and see how much your closet can earn you!