Priced to help

Jeff Benson

Like most of the volunteers at the American Cancer Society Discovery

Shop, cancer survivor Dottie Hill has her own reasons for sticking

around.

Eleven years ago, Hill aided her sister in her fight against lung

cancer and began working at the Corona del Mar shop, which sells

upscale second-hand items at discounts. Hill, 87, has been there ever

since, working seven-hour shifts every Saturday to help raise money

for cancer research and patient care.

But her biggest challenge came in February of 2003, when she

learned that she, too, had the disease. Hoag Cancer Center doctors

found cancer in her breast after performing a lumpectomy.

“I was helping my sister after she’d had a lung removed, and that

was the last thing I planned for,” she said. “When they told me I had

cancer, it’s not like I could go back in a month. The doctor said I

had to go into surgery immediately.”

Hill won her battle and didn’t lose any of her volunteer spirit.

With her cancer in remission, she focused her attention on opening

the store, wrapping the china and counting the registers twice each

Saturday.

Store manager Lucy Quintana said she allows Hill to oversee the

branch’s finances and student volunteers when she works, because

she’s capable and has been there longer than any of the store’s other

30 volunteers.

The Discovery Shop is a treasure hunter’s haven, stocking

everything from blue jeans to glass tables to fine art.

Quintana said the store is always receiving new items for Hill to

price, sometimes at as much as an 80% discount off the retail market

value.

“It’s surprising how Dottie knows to price things so well,”

Quintana said. “She knows her brand names, and she’s continually

looking for news articles on what things are selling for on the

retail market.”

Both Hill and Quintana said nearly everyone who helps in the shop

has experienced cancer personally or through a loved one.

“People volunteer here for different reasons,” Hill said. “Some of

the people, like me, are retired, have had [cancer] and have a lot of

time on their hands. And some do it because it’s for a good cause.”