A Labor of Love

Just 22 miles off the coast of Los Angeles sit the Catalina Islands, home to Dorothea Sanchez, a member of Catalina Island Bible Church.  A compassionate, caring, and creative person, Dorothea saw many hard working families that live on the island having an extremely challenging time making ends meet, due to the high cost of groceries on the island. 

Dorothea contacted the Treasure Box in early October 2009, eager to find out if it was possible to bring The Treasure Box to the Catalina Island Community.  Treasure Box Community Outreach Representative David Leonard explained to Dorothea how the boxes were delivered frozen and that she would need to pick them up at the nearest Delivery Site which was located in Wilmington.  Although it would be no easy task to get frozen boxes of food from Wilmington to Catalina, Dorothea was determined to figure out a way!  And…where there is a will, there is a way!

Dorothea was able to contact a local freight company that agreed to ship the boxes to Catalina Island for a great rate.  She contacted Pastor Rudy Corona, Coordinator for Harbor Christian Center a few days before the October Treasure Box deadline to coordinate the pick up of her first order, 37 Treasure Boxes.  On Saturday October 24^th, Dorthea picked up her boxes, drove them to the freight company, where they shipped them on a refrigerated boat over the weekend. The boxes arrived on Catalina Island on Monday October 26^th, where Dorothea and her amazing team of volunteers personally delivered each and every Treasure Box to the families and individuals that ordered them. Dorothea and her team were greeted with many smiles, hugs, and thanks as they delivered the boxes; the team was overwhelmed and humbled with the responses they received. Dorothea’s selfless efforts have inspired more and more people to volunteer their time and assist her in her noble cause.

The Catalina Island Bible team has been able to meet the grocery needs of families on the island with God’s word of “Love thy neighbor,” and more importantly, have built lasting relationships while bringing a deeper sense of community to the Island.  Since beginning with the Treasure Box, Dorothea has brought over 200 Treasure Boxes to Catalina Island and that number keeps growing.  Families and individuals in her community are able to stretch their dollars and enjoy quality food because of the dedication of Dorothea and her team.  Dorothea Sanchez is a true example of what can be done when the spirit of community, an attitude of serving, and an ability to inspire, connect, and mobilize is combined into action. We at the Treasure Box salute Dorothea and her team for the efforts put forth, which exhibit a true “Labor of Love”.