Mildred Dill’ard at her station at the LEO Center

In her ninety-first year and still an active staff member at an Oakland tutoring center for young people, Mildred Dill’ard has been honored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools with the title of “Affiliate” to the Brothers’ institute. Born and raised in Georgia, and called "Miss Mildred" by all who know her, she has been the secretary at the Lasallian Educational Opportunities Center in Oakland, California, since it opened its doors in 1994. The Lasallian Educational Opportunities Center (the LEO Center for short) is a neighborhood tutoring center founded and sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers that provides after-school and summertime academic enrichment programs for local primary and secondary school students, and English proficiency and computer skills classes for adults.

"The programs of the LEO Center have as their ultimate goal that young people acquire the skills and attitudes which will liberate the full flowering of their human potential, enhance the attainment of their rightful place as full participants in society, and nurture their awareness of the richness of their human dignity and that of others," says the Center’s mission statement.

The citation for Miss Mildred reads, in part, “During your many years of service at the LEO Center, you have worked tirelessly for the formation of inner-city youth and the promotion of the ideals of St. John Baptist de La Salle. As the only founding member of the LEO Center still on staff, you carry the burden of history and tradition with grace and determination. Your love of the Brothers is well known… and your apostleship of prayer for the poor and the needy and for the work of the Brothers is a model for all whose lives you touch.”

Miss Mildred and the LEO Center staff

"The Brothers have all been beautiful to me from the day I met them,” says Miss Mildred. ‘So much kindness has been given to me and shown among the Brothers, and I’ve grown to love them all. Blessings to Brother Chris who brought me into the fold. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t’ be here. He gave me this family. I will never forget that man.”

Brother Chris Bassen, FSC, who died in 2006, was one of the founders of the LEO Center; he encountered Miss Mildred in 1993 at a meeting of volunteers at a senior citizens’ center. He was in search of volunteers for the prospective LEO Center, and Miss Mildred answered the call. Her generosity in service was no surprise, say those who know her. Since settling in Northern California in 1955, she has been “doing God’s work” of service to others for countless organizations, including the TeleCare program at Alta Bates Medical Center, the Berkeley Police Department Crime Prevention program, and Berkeley’s Senior Centers.

Affiliation is the Brothers’ way of recognizing and acknowledging persons who have not only supported the Lasallian educational mission through their outstanding gifts and services but who have also supported the Brothers through the personal and fraternal relationships they have developed. Affiliation is recognition of shared values and commitments: religious faith, love for young people, enthusiasm for human and Christian education, sensitivity to the needs of the poor, and a commitment to Christ and His Gospel. The names of Affiliates are inscribed officially in the archives at the international Institute in Rome, and Affiliates share in all of the prayers, good works, and general spiritual treasury of the Institute.

The ceremony of Affiliation took place on June 14, 2008, at the Mont La Salle Chapel in Napa, California, at the provincial headquarters of the Brothers’ west coast province.

The LEO Center is located on the grounds of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Oakland, at 710 – 40th Street. The web site is http://home.pacbell.net/leocentr/.