Dorris Dann began her tenure as Director of Our Saviour Center in 1987. Our Saviour Center is the outreach program of the Church of Our Saviour in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and Immanuel Church, El Monte on which the Center’s main facility is located. Annually the Center serves thousands of individuals with food; shelter; medical care; and children’s and youth programming.
Dorris’s decision to become the Center’s Director was a surprising one: she was nearing retirement as the women’s sportswear buyer for the upscale Broadway department store. At that time, she was a volunteer Board Member of the fledgling agency when they were looking for someone to lead it, she heard a sermon by the Rev. Canon Nikolaus Kouletsis on Isaiah 6:8 regarding the need to “step up and answer our own prayers.” As in the scriptural reading, Dorris stepped up and said, “Here I am Lord, send me.” After conferring with the Rev. Kouletsis, she took an early retirement from the Broadway and began her 23-year mission of leading Our Saviour Center.
When Dorris began her second career in 1987 at the Center, it served the community only as a food pantry. But she recognized that the community needed comprehensive programs to address multifaceted challenges. In time, her dedication, zeal and tremendous fundraising efforts would make the food pantry among the largest private distributors of food in Los Angeles county and expand the Center to add children's programming, homeless services, and medical care.
Dorris was an excellent fund raiser, grant writer and motivator, and within ten years the Center included a new building housing the Cleaver Family Wellness Center with a full time bilingual medical staff in association with the USC Keck School of Medicine; as well as the Beatrice Bird Computer Learning Center. The Cleaver/Bird facility was a tremendous undertaking, which added 9,600 sq. ft. of new space for Center programs.
Five years later the Center acquired additional property and built the Kid's Campus, an 18,000 sq. ft. facility with a gymnasium, fine arts studio, cafeteria, game room and study arena. Dorris’s focus had always centered around serving children and youth. Even in the early days of the Center as a food pantry, the Center had volunteer story tellers, so kids would have something to do while their parents were in line for food. With assistance from her Center staff, the support of the Church of Our Saviour and local El Monte powerhouse Hilda Solis, the Center was able to secure a State of California Parks and Recreations grant, the second largest grant awarded that year. The Kids Campus was dedicated on Dorris’s birthday on October 3rd, 2015. It was a fitting tribute that after her retirement, the Kids Campus was officially renamed the Dorris Dann Kids Campus by the Vestry of the Church of Our Saviour.
Dorris Dann is survived by her cousin, Helen Nelson. She also leaves the Our Saviour Center Family, many of whom have continued to be part of her life up to her last days, especially the Vega Family, the Wailase Family, Maria Gallegos, and many others. She will be missed for her tireless efforts on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised; honored for her example in answering the call to serve those in need; and loved as a friend, mentor and second mother to many.
As stated in her final directives, Dorris Dann will be interred in a private ceremony alongside her parents in the San Gabriel Cemetery. A community celebration of her life will be organized by her friends, family, and staff on Saturday September 28th (11:00am) at the Dorris Dann Kids Campus is El Monte. Those wishing to honor her are asked to donate to the Dorris Dann Kids Campus. www.kcycenter.org
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