1985
Links was established in 1985 by Norman and Grace Barnes as a way of helping the world’s poor help themselves out of poverty. It was originally based at Oasis House, Chadwell Heath, Essex.
1986
From the outset, Norman and Grace’s dream was that Links would inspire people into the adventure of ‘hearing the cry of the poor and providing a 'hand up, not hand out’. This ethos still underlines all of our work. The ripple effect of change that we see proves that this kind of change is sustainable.
2003
In 2003, the Links Head Office moved from Chadwell Heath to its current location in Rustington, Littlehampton. Around the same time, Links USA was established to help extend the work of Links International.
2006
In 2006, Rich Hubbard became a Co-Director with Norman, having been involved with Links since 1998.
2007
Rich became CEO with Norman as a Co-Director. Norman officially retired from Links in 2008.
2008
Links South Africa, under the leadership of Mike and Beryl Godward, and Links Canada were established to serve these regions for a limited season. Both offices ceased to operate in 2010.
2009
With Rich at the helm, Links continued to grow and the work was streamlined into five main areas: 1. Church partnerships 2. Micro-Enterprise Development 3. Community Healthcare 4. Kingdom Resources 5. Creative Income-Generating Projects. Sadly, Rich passed away after a battle with cancer on August 25, 2010.
2010
At this point Andy Read stepped into the role of CEO. Previously, Andy had edited the Links magazine for 15 years. Throughout Andy's leadership Links continued to both grow 'up' in influence and development, but also 'down' as Andy put strong root systems in place for the future growth of Links.
2012
Links USA wanted to expand further into the USA, and Central and Latin America, so they appointed Jason Bollinger, who was already serving on the Board, as the CEO/President of the USA Office. The Links USA office is now based in Houston, Texas and is headed up by Jason and Holly Bollinger.
2017
Andy retired from his role as CEO, handing over the reins to Joe Gisbey. Joe had been involved with Links since 2004, working closely with Rich and overseeing the area of community projects and micro-enterprise development.
2018
Joe would go on to condense the focus of Links’ vision to "connect people, confront poverty and create potential", with the main areas of work being: • Faith • Business • Healthcare • Education • Justice
2019
A regional presence was established in Africa to better support our partners on the continent. This is led by Sam Walker and in 2021, we formalised Links Africa, based in Lilongwe the capital city of Malawi. Plans are now underway for Links Latin America and in due course, we plan to also have an Asian Office.
2021
We welcomed David Cuchillas as our El Salvador Region Coordinator. David will be working closely with our USA Office coordinating projects, logistics, and facilitating the work of our Links' partners and projects on the ground in El Salvador, and across Latin America.
2023
Links was given land and property from Peacemakers in Kenya, one of our longstanding Act4You clients. Sam Walker, our Africa Region Coordinator, will lead our new Africa Hub in Kenya alongside previous Peacemakers' staff and volunteers.