 When William “Bill” Dillon was asked why he chooses to spend his Tuesdays and Wednesdays volunteering in Together We Cope’s food pantry, he simply replied, “I like the people.” He likes the people so much that he has been helping at Together We Cope since 2003, and still today he “gets up in the morning and cannot wait to get here.”
For 33 years Bill worked as a Land Trust Officer at LaSalle Bank. His wife of 39 years, Virginia “Ginny”, was a special education teacher for the Chicago Heights school district. Currently, Virginia works part-time at St. James Hospital.
So what brought Bill to Together We Cope? For 8 years he was a Loaned Executive for South Suburban United Way. During that time it was his job to visit businesses and give presentations about how the United Way works and which agencies benefit from the donations. Many times he called upon Together We Cope’s Executive Director, Kathy Straniero, to help him with his presentations.
“Kathy always said yes when I asked for her help.” When he finally retired, Bill saw a sign for Together We Cope’s Santa Breakfast and decided to drop in and see Kathy. He volunteered to help with that event, and he has been helping ever since.
Bill volunteers exclusively in our food pantry. “It’s a place I want to be,” he said. “I just love to see the look on the clients’ faces when they see the bags of groceries they are receiving.” He is truly a people person and he enjoys meeting and helping the clients. In addition to his work here at Together We Cope, Bill is an usher, and a member of the Men’s Club at St. Kieran’s Church in Chicago Heights.
Bill and Ginny live in Chicago Heights and are the parents of Michael (38), Patrick (34), and Kerry (30). They have 8 grandchildren and an additional one due almost any day. “I really enjoy going to my grandkid’s sporting events,” Bill said with a smile. He also enjoys building dollhouses for his granddaughters. For fun, Bill likes to golf, watch movies, and travel. He and Ginny have been to the Caribbean two times, to Ireland last year, and they plan on visiting the Hawaiian Islands in April.
Each day that Bill helps, whether in the food pantry, at one of our breakfasts, or volunteering for Community Days, he always has a smile on his face and an upbeat demeanor. Some people were just naturally born to provide service to others, and there is no denying that Bill Dillon is definitely one of those special people. |
