Difference Makers awarded for outstanding contributions
The Difference Makers organization and the founder and president of Difference Makers of Hot Springs were recognized on Nov. 4 during a breakfast awards ceremony at the Double Tree Hotel in Little Rock.
The Rev. Willie Wade Jr. received the Outstanding Individual Citizen Award, and the Difference Makers organization was awarded the Organization-Human & Civil Rights Achievements Award.
Wade was honored for demonstrating extraordinary vision and leadership in echoing the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King and providing inspirational impact on the social issues of equality, justice and the humanitarian movement in the United States. Wade and Difference Makers of Hot Springs dedicated the entire year of 2017 to addressing health disparities and its impact on healthy communities through both access and impact of quality care, a news release said.
These awards are to be presented to an educator and lay person for leadership in the area of human and civil rights. To be eligible for the award, one or more of the following criteria must be met by the candidate:
• A notable contribution for the eradication of racial and professional inequities in the education profession.
• Worked to bring about improved interracial and intergroup relations and understandings.
• Been identified and recognized by his/her profession and/or community for an outstanding civic or educational contribution or achievement.
The Human & Civil Rights Special Achievement Award is presented to an individual, local association, or other organization to recognize a singular achievement, past or current, in promoting human and civil rights.
The organization held several community health symposiums inviting Arkansas’ lead organizations in health care to convene for the first community sponsored health discussion. These organizations included Arkansas Department of Health, UAMS, Baptist Health, local hospital administrators, city and county government officials and community stakeholders. This would only prove to be the first of many inaugural events to address local issues that impact the health and safety of the community’s underserved population, the release said.
Other highlighted achievements include hosting the third annual Hot Springs Community Resource Fair-Health Focus, organizing Hot Springs Community Coalition Advocacy Group, and establishing the inaugural Arkansas Community Health Banquet with Annie Abrams as keynote speaker. The city of Hot Springs recently donated to the group operational management of Hot Springs Community Garden of Hope, the city’s first interactive handicap accessible teaching garden, where on Oct. 28 the group observed their third annual Make a Difference Day and community revitalization of a city block that encompasses the garden.
The Difference Makers was established Oct. 25, 2014, with the core values of advocacy, education, and awareness. Esther Dixon serves as the group’s executive director. The group’s most recent achievement for this year was hosting the first bipartisan Town Talk Community Discussion relating to community concerns of Garland County, held on Oct. 30. Difference Makers advocates a strong belief that the concerns of the people should always come first and speak the loudest. The group is now in the process of becoming property owners and stakeholders in the Historic Pleasant Street District.