Little Rock, Ark. (Nov. 20, 2020) – Mattie P. Collins of Pine Bluff is the 2020 recipient of the Lugean L. Chilcote Award, given by the Arkansas Community Foundation board of directors for outstanding service to philanthropy and community. Collins received the award at the Nov. 19 meeting of the board.
“This prestigious award named for a former board member is not given every year, and the last time was 2018,” said Heather Larkin, President and CEO of the Community Foundation. “Mattie exemplifies the spirit of the award through her lifetime of service in Pine Bluff and throughout our state. She is a champion of education and opportunity for all.”
A Pine Bluff native, Collins is a retired teacher with 39 years of experience in Gould and Pine Bluff. She is the president and founder of the Ivy Center for Education, a nonprofit college readiness and youth mentoring program in Jefferson County.
She graduated from AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) with a B.A. in history and political science. Her M.A. in educational administration was earned from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Collins and her husband Kenneth have two children and seven grandchildren.
Among many awards, Collins received the 2020 Educational Achievement Award; 2019 Alpha Kappa Alpha Golden Soror of the Year/South Central Region and other AKA awards; American Red Cross Hero Award; NAACP Dove Civil Rights Award; Kappa Alpha Psi Outstanding Community Service Award; Omega Psi Phi Citizen of the Year Award; UAPB Chancellor’s Benefit for the Arts Outstanding Educator Award; Joseph B. Whitehead Educator of Distinction Award; Arkansas Education Association Human Rights Special Achievement Award; and the Pine Bluff Festival Association Service Award.
Collins is a member of Barraque Street Baptist Church and a life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. With many instances of board service throughout her career, she currently serves as advisor to YAC (Youth Advisory Council) of the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation; Closing the Achievement Gap State Commissioner; Ivy Center for Education ACT Boot Camp; Partners: Go Forward Pine Bluff; and the UAPB STEM Academy and IT Department.
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Arkansas Community Foundation offers tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct their charitable dollars as they learn more about community needs. By making grants and sharing knowledge, the Community Foundation supports charitable programs that work for Arkansas and partners to create new initiatives that address the gaps. Since 1976, the Community Foundation has provided more than $310 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans to help them improve our neighborhoods, our towns and our entire state. Contributions to the Community Foundation, its funds and any of its 29 affiliates are fully tax deductible.