Dorothy Vickers-Shelley worked as an elementary school librarian at Yankee Ridge Elementary School for thirty years. She worked daily helping, in various ways, to expand young minds. Students began their year learning the following statement: "Life is short. Therefore, I shall be a crusader in the fight against ignorance and fear, beginning with myself." During her many years there, Dorothy endeared herselfto many of her students, some of whom became parents of her later students. Dorothy Vickers-Shelley is a member of Canaan Missionary Baptist Church.

She was a charter member of the National Council of Negro Women, Champaign County section.

Source: National Council of Negro Women, Charter Members Remembered, 2008