Mission : Link Centre provides a facility and an environment which fosters a meaningful connection between arts-based and social service entities in North Mississippi . The Link Centre's mission includes offering assistance to member organizations and the overall community by planning and implementing programs and services that support education, cultural awareness, diversity, health and welfare.

History : In 2000, a group of civic leaders began to formulate a plan to buy the vacant facilities of the former Harrisburg Baptist Church on Main Street , right in the geographic heart of the city. The objective was to create centralized access to a variety of social services, especially those benefiting children and youth. Soon it became clear that the complex of buildings was suitable to give a much needed home to various cultural groups as well, creating exciting possibilities for integrating the arts with the social services. From the perspective of all parties, plans to purchase the building were embraced as a means to put these facilities to use in a way that would enrich the immediate community and beyond.

Although the property was appraised at $3.4 million, the Harrisburg congregation agreed to sell it for $1.5 million for this highly worthwhile cause if the sale could occur in 2002. The empty buildings were beginning to deteriorate, so time was of the essence. The newly formed Harrisburg Cultural and Social Services Center, Inc. partnered with The Salvation Army and Girl Scouts of Northeast Mississippi to purchase the property. The Salvation Army took out a mortgage to buy the Family Life Center , which includes a gymnasium, to offer after-school tutoring, computer skills, and other character-building programming to the youth of the area. The Girl Scouts mortgaged the purchase of an entire wing of the main building to provide administrative and program space for their regional operations.

Now known as the Link Centre, the complex also houses the Tupelo Symphony Orchestra, Jolly Drum Studio, Music With Me, Church After School Association, American Cancer Society, Sisters Network, Inc., Living Word and Praise Church, Mississippi Missing Children, Gum Tree Museum of Art - Tag Too, Simple Strokes Therapy, B.E.T.T.T.E.R., Priscilla Roth-Wall, Ph.D., The Mitchell Assurance Group, Success Learning, LLC, Mississippi Center for Nonprofits, and Mid-South Grant Service, LLC and El Centro. Neighboring organizations who make use of the different programs at the Link Centre include nearby Rankin Elementary School, Boys and Girls Club of North Mississippi, and the Community Development Foundation.

The synergy created by bringing this many different groups together is tremendously exciting. The Tupelo Symphony, for example, finally has it own home and is also able to bring classical music to children participating in other programs at the Link Centre. The possibilities for collaboration are endless.