Blessing box: ‘Her story doesn’t end here’

“Alicia was my fourth child, my littlest one. She was like a little porcelain doll. We pretty much centered ourselves around her. She was my kids’ pride and joy. She wanted anything, she got it. She was going to turn 2 last July. Then in May, we lost her. She drowned. It didn’t feel real. Like, I had her, then she was gone. We had recently started going to church. We felt like we were fixing our lives. Then this happened. But I felt like we got a sign from God to keep going. Like, her story doesn’t end here. She’s not here physically, but it doesn’t mean she’s not still with us. That’s when I got the idea to make a blessing box. Something we could do for the community, in her memory.

“My husband and I used to work in the refineries, and we made two decent paychecks. But they didn’t last for anything. We struggled buying diapers and formula. So it started with asking people to donate things like that for moms and dads and grandparents taking care of young kids. Now it’s grown to all sorts of food items and necessities. And the response has been great. The community is showing they really care. Whatever goes in the box belongs to whoever grabs it, whoever needs it. A lady across the street says it helps her every single day to feed her kids and have diapers for them. That’s what it’s all about. It’s made an impression on my kids, too. They get excited seeing people drop off stuff, and they have a better appreciation for those needing help.

“There are times when we all just sit down and cry. We really miss our little girl. But through this whole experience, I feel like we’ve gotten so much closer to God. I hope nobody else has to go through what we’ve gone through. I hope I bear all the burden and all the hurt and all the sorrow and all the grief for any other mother. Maybe this is not the testimony that I wanted, but I feel like this is going to help somebody else later on down the road.”

— Roxanna Castillo

The Alicia’s Blessings box is located at 1003 E. James in Baytown. It’s available 24/7 for drop-offs and pickups.

Roxanna also wants to highlight the importance of water safety for young children. A great resource is Teresa Rising, who we featured in a story several years ago. She’s a certified master instructor with Infant Swimming Resource’s Self-Rescue program.