The Disaster Cycle Services (DCS) Team would like to congratulate a few of its volunteers for their ongoing dedication and accomplishments. These individuals exemplify one or more of the Red Cross’s 5 C’s: Compassionate, Collaborative, Creative, Credible and Committed. Each month, DCS recognizes volunteers who are members of one of their specialized teams.

For the month of April , DCS recognized volunteers who are members of the Disaster Action Team (DAT). Hats off to the following volunteers:

Jill Cherpack is Committed and Creative – Jill is very committed to the DAT program for Delaware County and other counties as well. She is eager to respond and willing to travel long distances to respond to clients in need. Jill is committed to furthering her advancement within the DAT program. She is creative in her response to clients as nothing seems to phase her. Jill takes the time to listen to clients’ needs and offers creative solutions to ease their suffering. She is truly an integral and important part of the Delaware County Disaster Action Team.

Hal Cohen is Compassionate – Hal defines the DAT quality of Compassionate. The first lesson Hal provides to a DAT trainee is that we succeed in our Red Cross mission when we provide care and compassion to our clients. Hal is committed to ensuring that our clients have been shown nothing short of compassion and care. Hal not only provides compassion to our DAT clients but also displays this in his many other activities including Blood Services, deployments and Habitat for Humanity. Hal understands that compassion is an essential element in society and in performing our DAT mission.

Alyssa DuVal is Compassionate and Collaborative – Alyssa joined the DAT program in 2021, looking to balance her hectic professional work while helping her community. Despite work responsibilities, Alyssa signs up nearly every week for the 6 pm to midnight on-call shift. She has answered calls for Montgomery, Philadelphia and Delaware Counties during her shifts and her free time. She serves as a productive team member, compassionately supporting our residents and collaboratively supporting fellow responders with event tasks. Her gentle approach is comforting to unsettled clients, helping them focus on their immediate needs and prioritize their next moves. Even in training, her positive attitude helps develop collaborative results. Don’t be mistaken about Alyssa’s quiet ways, her impact is loud and clear.

Ashley Hulsey is Committed – Ashley began volunteering for the Red Cross in November 2022 and quickly made an impact on our team. She has shown her commitment to serving the Philadelphia community by consistently placing herself on call every week, participating in monthly meetings/trainings, and even responding when not on call. Ashley displays integrity, following through on her commitments, effectively administering disaster cycle services, and personifying a textbook credible DAT member.

Editor’s Note: A version of this article was originally published in the May 2023 issue of The Volunteer Voice.