Service-Learning Impacts Social Workers:
Eleven Summers of Burn Camp By Emily Williams
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hen Dana Dillard, MSW ’01 signed up for a course called Social Work with Burn Survivors at the end of her first year in graduate school, she was unaware that she would become an integral part of a summer camp for burn-injured children. “I still joke with [Nancy Williams] that I can remember the day that I stood outside of her office door and had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for camp,” Dillard recalled. Now the programs director for the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation (GFBF), Dillard is involved in the planning and programming for Camp Oo-U-La®, which has been offered free-of-charge to Georgia children since 1992. Children between the ages of 7 and 17, who have spent at least four days in the burn unit of a Georgia hospital, are eligible. Almost 100 campers attend the week-long camp each summer. Dillard, like many volunteers, learned about the camp through Associate Professor Nancy R. Williams, who founded the course Social Work with Burn Survivors. She volunteered, spending summer vacations at Camp Oo-U-La® while working as a medical social worker and later as a school social worker. “The kids get into your heart and you just fall in love with them,” she said. “Just seeing the resiliency in them—the ‘funness’ of seeing the same faces year to year and watching them grow up as well as the lasting friendships—keeps me coming back.” Dillard was hired by GFBF in 2008 to oversee their programs and services including Camp Oo-U-La®, giving her the ability to influence and strengthen programming at the camp through her background and experience as a social worker. When the camp was started 18 years ago, firefighters wanted burn-injured kids to have a fun-haven where they could escape stares and not have to explain what happened to them. Now, as many former campers are returning as camp counselors, they can offer a listening ear to new campers and talk about their burn experiences. This year for the first time, campers had formal time set aside to talk about their burn injuries with Dillard, Dennis Gardin, the executive director of the GFBF and a burn survivor, and Clay Williams, a current camp counselor and former camper. The shift in approach is due in part to the influence of social workers at the camp, Dillard said. Social work students and alumni volunteers come equipped not only to help in various staff positions, but also to assist with the psychosocial needs of the campers. “We’ve really had a strong influence by way of having that education and background. I’m really proud of this,” she said. Social Work Crew (Standing L to R): Danielle Kelley, Dean Maurice C. Daniels, Nancy R. Williams, Maggie Gignilliat, Mary Lee Jackson, Amanda Stephens, Jaclyne Smith, Emily Giattina, Regina Roth-Goldman, Corey Stillwell, Pia Humphreys, Amanda Mueller, McKenzy Bailey, Wendy Senior, Tiffany Domingos Brennaman, Katherine Adams, Dana Dillard and Stacey Kolomer. (Sitting L to R): Caroline Lozen, Helen Nichols, Amy Lightsley, Deedee Street, Candace Shepard, Jessica Bates and Holly Klich.
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