Dr. Earlie Washington to receive the 5th Annual Purple Poppy Award
Dr. Earlie M. Washington has been selected to receive the Purple Poppy Award from Heritage Community of Kalamazoo for her dedicated support of the organization’s mission and vision. This award presentation will be made at the Heritage Community Foundation Gala on Thursday, April 11.
Dr. Washington is the former dean of Western Michigan University’s College of Health and Human Services. During her 12-year tenure as dean, the college established a Center for Gerontology Education, Research and Service, enrollment in the college increased by 60 percent, and six of the college’s academic programs ranked among the top 100 best graduate programs in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.
She currently serves as director of WMU’s University-Community Empowerment Center, a research, consultation, and training center that collaborates with individuals, groups and organizations to empower communities to reduce poverty. She is also a professor in the School of Social Work and has served as the Principal Investigator on numerous grant funded projects in the areas of gerontology, substance abuse, and social work education.
Her service roles have included an appointment by the Governor of Michigan to the Michigan Home Based Child Care Council; commissioner on the Commission on Accreditation for the Council on Social Work Education; and the elected Region 6 Representative for the National Association of Social Workers on the National Committee on Nominations and Leadership Identification.
She was selected by the Heritage Community of Kalamazoo Board of Directors for her previous service on Heritage’s board and facilitating a sustainable partnership between Heritage and WMU’s College of Health and Human Services.
Earlie was instrumental in forming a partnership between both organizations which has allowed hundreds of Nursing and Occupational Therapy students to gain experience and enhance the lives of residents.
Past Awards Include:
- 2018 Volunteer Community Service Award, Kent County, Kalamazoo-Muskegon Michigan National Black Nurses Association
- 2012 Onyx Society Mentoring Award
- 2011 YWCA of Kalamazoo Woman of Achievement Award
- 2002 Special Recognition Award—Platinum Awards, Division of Multicultural Affairs, Western Michigan University
- 2002 Outstanding Service Award, Commission on Accreditation, Council on Social Work Education
- 2001 Service Recognition Award, McNair Scholars Program, Western Michigan University
- 2001 Outstanding Contributions Recognition to the Development of the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards, Council on Social Work Education
- 1998 Elizabeth Butler Alumni Award, School of Social Service Administration, The University of Chicago
- 1996 Social Work Educator of the Year, Alabama/Mississippi Social Work Education Conference
About Heritage Community of Kalamazoo Foundation
The Heritage Community Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established to support the charitable needs of Heritage Community of Kalamazoo and the residents who live here. Founded in 1945, the Foundation has been raising funds to help support residents through various means including the Heritage Legacy Fund, which assures residents that if, through unexpected circumstances, they can no longer cover their own living costs, their home will always be secure at Heritage Community. Read more at HeritageCommunityFoundation.com.
Purple Poppy Award
The Purple Poppy Award name stems from the beginnings of Heritage Community of Kalamazoo when the first committee began fundraising and called it a “Flower Fund.” Their concept was a new idea in 1945 when community members were encouraged to make memorial donations to the fund in lieu of sending flowers to funerals. The poppy flower itself is a springtime flower and symbolizes remembrance and honoring service. Purple blooms signify accomplishment and admiration, and it is also associated with Alzheimer’s disease and memory loss, which are conditions of older adults that Heritage Community of Kalamazoo serves.