Congratulations to Dorothy Deany

Story written by EOW Intern Sierra Godsey.

Volunteering time, money, and energy is at the forefront of Dorothy Deany’s life. Helping others through her volunteer efforts at St. Vincent de Paul-Holy Trinity (SVDP), local schools, and area service gardens is a passion for this ExtraOrdinary woman. The ExtraOrdinary Women Project BN is proud to name Dorothy Deany as its fourth-quarter ExtraOrdinary Woman of 2022 in honor of all that she has done for our community and for her dedication, heart, and fearlessness. She was presented with the award at a ceremony Thursday evening. 

“Community to me is made up of those who help those around them with love and compassion. We learn from each other, love one another and together we make the community stronger,” Dorothy notes. 

Her nominator, Patricia Salch, shares, “All who work with Dorothy see her endless energy all day, six days a week. From running our mission to growing food and harvesting it for our clients she has a heart of empathy and kindness. Dorothy has a quiet perseverance as a champion for the poor and those in need.”

Dorothy has dedicated her time to help serve countless areas of the community, including the education sector, the homeless and those in need, and the hungry. She shares that volunteerism is an attribute that was passed on to her from her parents and is something she has instilled in her own family. 

Dorothy was the oldest of her seven siblings and was often tasked with helping take care of them. By the age of ten, she was helping her dad drive tractors on their Chatsworth farm as well. Dorothy knew the meaning of hard work and practiced it daily. She honed her volunteerism and responsibility by participating and competing in 4H throughout junior high and high school. “I learned responsibility through 4H, and I even went to state when I was ten and twelve!” she adds.

“I also worked at a grocery store when I was in high school, which ultimately helped prepare me for my volunteer work with the food pantry,” Dorothy says. This job taught her how to properly stock and learn more about produce. 

Today, Dorothy and her husband Bernie instill their altruistic values within their own family. Their children include daughters Karen and Lisa and a son Gregory who enjoy helping at the food pantry. Each of her children now also bring their own children to volunteer, passing down these deep family values to the next generation.

“I am so proud of my grandchildren. I have six all together, and there are four boys whom all have volunteered at the food pantry. They are from Wisconsin and the suburbs of Chicago, and they drive down early to help out,” Dorothy shares.

Dorothy’s work at SVDP all started in 2008 when she helped start a produce garden on the grounds of the old Central Catholic High School at 705 N. Roosevelt Street in Bloomington. Throughout the years and with the help of many, the St. Isidore’s Garden has grown in size and offerings. Through the fruits of this garden, in 2021 SVDP distributed more than 4,300 pounds of tomatoes and other produce including radishes, onions, green beans, potatoes, peas, sweet potatoes and other summer vegetables. The garden expanded to include raised beds and volunteers added Swiss chard, kale and beets. Dorothy’s family farms in Chatsworth have also provided the pantry with hundreds of winter squash to be given to families in need.

Later, in 2015, Dorothy saw an ad for the need of a volunteer to answer the phones at SVDP. Now retired, Dorothy began volunteering at the food pantry in 2015 as one of 120 volunteers who assist with the customer-choice food pantry and clothing pantry. According to their website, “The Food Pantry is a large customer-choice pantry that offers fresh meat, dairy, fresh vegetables, and fruit; bread; juice; selected pastries, and canned goods. Within limited guidelines, the Food Pantry’s visitors select from our shelves the food that they (and often their families with children) prefer. During summer months, the vegetables we harvest from St. Isidore’s Garden are distributed through the food pantry.

In addition to the food pantry, a clothes pantry has been added with Deany’s help. “Our clothes pantry provides lightly used donated clothes for men, women, teenagers and children. Clothes are arranged so that seasonal needs, styles, colors and sizes are easy to find.

Eligibility for Food Pantry service is determined by federal poverty level guidelines based on family size, and residency in McLean County. There are no eligibility requirements for the clothes pantry,” she adds.

Food insecurity is a big issue for many families, but it is often a more well-known funded resource. Clothing, while an incredible need, is a little more under the radar for families in need.

Dorothy became vice president of the SVDP-Holy Trinity in 2017 and continues to serve as one of the organization’s leaders, spending six days a week at the pantry. Her role includes entering client information into the computer, finding recipes for clients to creatively use the food products received from the USDA, organizing the receiving of several truckloads of food and miscellaneous materials trucked to the pantry each week, cooking a simple lunch for volunteers who help with the Monday food distribution efforts, and whatever else is on the weekly ‘To Do’ list. 

Dorothy appreciates her fellow SVDP volunteers saying, “Our volunteers are amazing, and we really are a tight-knit family. I thank each and every one of them for their constant support and help. We spend a lot of time together - even throughout COVID -  living our mission. We also had some volunteers who couldn’t assist during this time due to health reasons. They really missed the atmosphere and their role in serving others. It feels great knowing this place has that effect.” 

COVID-19 greatly impacted SVDP operations but Dorothy and the other volunteers at the organization persevered to ensure that the community would still have their needs met. They only closed for one week, and when they reopened their doors, they made significant operational changes. They held a discount sale on clothes and moved clothing racks outside to make items more accessible and COVID-safe. Pantry pickups were also moved outdoors under tents and were drive up or walk-up only. Many of the volunteers who were able to come back during the pandemic really came together to serve, Dorothy adds. 

“We had as many as 30 percent of our clients during COVID qualify as first-time guests,” shares Dorothy. “The COVID pandemic affected many and reflected that hard times can fall on anyone.”

In addition to the numerous volunteers that keep SVDP running, Dorothy especially values her husband’s devotion to the cause. “I appreciate my husband Bernard who has supported me since day one. He has dedicated countless hours by my side.”

Bernard and Dorothy’s story started when they met and started dating at Chatsworth High School, which is now known as Prairie Central High School. After high school, Dorothy attended the University of Illinois for one year until they married. She then transferred to Illinois State University and earned her degree in high school education. Dorothy was involved with the Catholic Newman Center and loved attending sporting events. While finishing their degrees, Dorothy and Bernard served as “house parents” for young women attending ISU. They also had a newborn to care for. Once Dorothy graduated, she began teaching junior high math in Olympia. The following year she had signed on to work at another school but was pregnant at the start of the school year and her contract was voided by the district which was common practice at the time. 

“I continued looking for a job in education and I ended up teaching math and physical science at Central Catholic High School for four years. Through this time, I persevered and learned the value of asking others for help. I loved teaching and seeing the impact that I made on my students.”

Dorothy taught at a few other schools throughout the years and in 1972 bought a childcare center with her husband. The couple ran Belltop Childcare for 20 years. During this time Dorothy was also involved with the Illinois Association in Education of Young Children, where she served as the president, and helped install the kindergarten and preschool programs alongside Jesse White. 

After the couple sold the daycare, Dorothy worked as a florist at Forget Me Not Flowers for 15 years. While there she designed and delivered wedding flowers. At this time, she also became involved with politics and while serving as a precinct committee person, she also served as Vice-chair of the McLean County Democratic Party. She was later hired by the Department of Transportation and worked there for nine years as a legislative analyst, where her main duties included dealing with constituent issues for legislators.

When asked what advice she would give to younger generations about volunteering, Dorothy humbly responded with, “You will receive more than you give. SVDP-HT’s volunteers are dedicated to feeding and clothing (and by their example, healing) individuals and families in Bloomington, Normal and McLean County who need a helping hand and often have no other place to turn to for help. More importantly, for their own spiritual growth, SVDP-HT provides volunteers meaningful opportunities to serve their neighbors in need with love and compassion. By doing what they do with care and respect, they show the people we serve that they matter and are God’s children.” 

We have a huge range of volunteers from junior high school students to seniors at SVDP, she notes. “I remember when a volunteer brought a friend in to help at the food pantry, and she left in tears because she saw the beauty of the food pantry and how everyone was so caring,” Dorothy adds.

Dorothy continues to lead by example, volunteering six days a week at SVDP. “ I want to make the world a better place, one day at a time, one interaction at a time,” she says. 

Congratulations, Dorothy Deany, on being named our fourth-quarter 2022 ExtraOrdinary Woman. Your community is thankful for your endless acts of service and love. May you continue to be an inspiration to others! 

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul originated in Paris in 1833. The Bloomington SVDP-Holy Trinity chapter opened its doors in the 1960s in the basement of a Holy Trinity Convent. The SVDP-Holy Trinity doors open every Monday from 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. (closed between noon to 1 p.m.), and on the second and fourth Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eligibility is based on federal poverty guidelines and family size. More information is available at www.svdp-htpantry.org. 

The EOW Project recognizes one woman quarterly for the quiet efforts, tenacity, and perseverance of those who identify as women in McLean County by sharing their stories in the spirit of celebration and with the aim of inspiring others. They are the unsung heroes in their circles of families, friends, and colleagues as well as in our community. 

 ExtraOrdinary Women Project wishes to thank all those who nominated an extraordinary woman in the Bloomington-Normal community. Keep those nominations coming!

Each of these nominations proves that there are numerous amazing, unsung heroes in our community. With so many incredible stories and personalities, choosing just one story to feature this quarter was certainly a challenging task.

Nominations are continually accepted on our website; we will continue to consider all nominations submitted for one full calendar year upon nomination.

Story written by EOW Intern Sierra Godsey.