A heart for service: Dillard constantly at work for those in need throughout Oglethorpe County

Shirley Dillard’s phone rings constantly.

Whether it’s calls with an appliance to donate, thank you texts from families she’s helped, or call requests for a stove, people know to reach out to Dillard because of her decades-long dedication to service. 

Through her positions as co-chair of Community Christmas, board member for Family Connection and as a retired court appointed special advocate, Dillard has a significant hand in providing resources for residents of Oglethorpe County, where she has lived since 1994. 

“I feel like the amount of time that I spend is well-spent, because there are individuals who are really, really hurting,” she said. 

Projects and volunteer opportunities have become a greater part of her life since she retired as an educator in 2011. As co-chair of Community Christmas, one of Dillard’s many projects has been expanding the service opportunities for the non-profit that donates gifts to 500 children per year. 

She also helps organize and promote the county’s annual Community Day, which is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5. 

Earlier this year, Dillard walked into the storage unit for Community Christmas in Crawford to take shelving to the Oglethorpe County School System Resource Center for diaper distribution. 

Under a new joint partnership between Community Christmas, the school system and the Athens Area Diaper Bank, the organization receives an allowance of diapers for 50 children each month. This is, however, less than what Dillard and members of Community Christmas originally hoped for. Data shows that in Oglethorpe County specifically, there are 152 children under the age of 3 who receive WIC — the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. 

“We are hopeful that (the number of diapers) will be increased in a few months when the diaper bank receives promised funding earmarked for expansion in rural areas,” Dillard said. 

Tackling issues like these has become a way of life for the retired teacher. After 26 years of working in the school system, she said she feels that it’s her job, responsibility and gift to help those in her community that need aid and relief. 

From educator to advocate

Dillard, who is from Ohio, moved to Georgia after receiving her doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1986. She began working in the music department at the University of Georgia and at three higher education institutions in the state before moving to Oglethorpe County with her husband in 1994.

During her time at Columbus State University, Dillard led the Voice Performance Department. Maureen McKay, an opera singer, credits most of her success to Dillard. 

“I just felt so cared for,” McKay said. “And from the get-go, because of the investment of her time that she was putting into me, it gave me such a sense of value and determination to pursue a career as an opera singer.”

McKay started taking private lessons from Dillard when she was 15. Their relationship carried over into her time at Columbus State University, where she majored in voice performance, and they spent hours together preparing for auditions. 

“Her tenacity was on the side of the students she was mentoring.” McKay said. “She had their backs.” 

Whether it was a performance with her church, or flying to France with her during her freshman year of college, Dillard was there. Most recently, she flew to Seattle to attend one of McKay’s opera performances.

“She was absolutely the most dedicated teacher I’ve ever had,” McKay said. 

Dillard’s time as an educator wasn’t her only display of generosity and care. She also worked in the foster care system for Oglethorpe County for 20 years as a court appointed special advocate. She acted as children’s legal representative in litigations on custody rights and other familial issues. Though mentally tolling at times, Dillard remembers these days fondly.

“It was the most frustrating and rewarding thing I’ve ever done,” Dillard said. “Because you really do make a difference in the life of a child who’s in a situation not caused by himself.” 

Cases ranged from a few months to almost three years during her time with CASA, and each case was a different story. Her work with disadvantaged children and families in need translated almost seamlessly into her current volunteer responsibilities.

“In the foster care system, you will have children from all kinds of socioeconomic backgrounds, although you have a preponderance of children that are in less than wealthy households. In the work that I do with Community Christmas, all the families we serve are in financial distress. 

“There’s a lot of crossover,” Dillard said. “You see children who are having the trauma of food insecurity, the trauma of housing insecurity, etc, and you know that it’s not going to take much for that family to be in an acute crisis where (child protective services) may have to step in.”

Expanding her leadership

After volunteering with various organizations, she took on leadership roles as a board member of Family Connection and as co-chair of Community Christmas. Community Christmas provides services for families who have children between newborn to 18. This leaves out a lot of groups who don’t fall under this category. 

She decided to expand her volunteer work as she began receiving outside calls and requests from families who didn’t meet these requirements. 

“I was getting requests from people — families that did not fall under this umbrella,” Dillard said, “so I began independently posting on social media.” 

In her Facebook posts, Dillard would include links for services being provided in the area.

For example, on June 18, 2021, Dillard posted on Facebook: 

“This is a service for Oglethorpe and Madison County seniors and persons with disability, limited funds, and limited transportation.” 

The link that followed was for The Carpenter’s Closet Outreach Ministries in Crawford, which hosted a delivery for seniors who struggled gaining access to food and hygiene products. 

Dillard continued sending out similar alerts and helping connect people to donors, and she began collecting donated furniture and appliances. 

“She’s very compassionate,” said Catherine Bowen Drewry, co-chair for Community Christmas. “She tries to help people do the best they can do and find support for that.”

Dillard makes sure to note, however, that none of her work is done alone. She credits the plethora of volunteers who work alongside her. 

“These folks are so grateful, and they’re very grateful to me, personally, and I always remind them that they need to thank the very generous people of Oglethorpe County,” Dillard said. 

This story is written by the Covering Poverty project, which is part of the Cox Institute’s Journalism Writing Lab at the University of Georgia.