Mayor James Perkins Jr. met with members of The Links, Inc. &045;&045; Selma Chapter and officials from Selma High School Monday to declare April 7-11 National Youth Violence Prevention Week in Selma.

The Links, Inc. is a national civic organization started in 1946 by a group of professional women who banded together in the name of community service, according to Maxwell.

In addition to promoting healthy alternatives to violence, The Selma Chapter collects canned goods to donate to the elderly and spearheads a number of activities to benefit local youth.

The group has adopted the Selma City School System, donating a total of $3,000 to local schools. It has also raised $5,000 for the Selma Youth Development Center.

At the national level The Links, Inc. has tackled such projects as the opening of 54 schools in Africa. The Selma Chapter has donated books to those schools.