Joy “JJ” Jose (left), a longtime Red Cross volunteer, stands with her supervisor, Jaylene Chee (right). JJ supports Volunteer Services and helps welcome and guide new team members. Volunteers make up about 90 percent of the Red Cross workforce, and dedicated women like JJ help ensure the mission is carried out with compassion every day.
Mimi Teller/American Red Cross
Every morning at the American Red Cross office on O‘ahu, before the phones ring or the emails begin, Joy “JJ” Jose is already in motion. She is often among the first to arrive, greeting volunteers, checking on projects and offering the warm hugs that have become part of the chapter’s daily rhythm.
JJ joined the Red Cross in November 2015, at a time when she was looking for purpose and community. Her husband had recently passed away, and though she was caring for her mother, she still had time she wanted to use meaningfully. The chapter was within walking distance of her home, so she attended a meet-and-greet event. What she remembers most from that first Red Cross introduction was meeting one of the animal visitation program dogs, who stayed close by her side the entire time.
“His owner told me he sensed my loss,” JJ recalled. “That moment really stayed with me.”
Since then, JJ has supported multiple departments, including Service to the Armed Forces (SAF), Disaster Cycle Services and, most consistently, Volunteer Services. She has helped assemble materials for SAF events, worked behind the scenes during shelter responses and assisted wherever extra hands were needed. In Volunteer Services, she helps coordinate recognition efforts, send birthday and anniversary notices, prepare for events and support incoming volunteers.
“I feel really good when I can help someone,” she said. “That is my upbringing. I just like to be useful.”
When volunteers from the mainland arrived to support the response to the Maui wildfires, JJ stayed in the office to ensure they had what they needed, including food, supplies, information and a welcoming point of contact.
“They would come and ask me for things, and I enjoyed making sure they were taken care of,” she said. “I like to make people feel comfortable.”
Her teammates say that steady reliability is what makes her presence so important.
“JJ does everything and anything,” said Jaylene Chee, JJ’s supervisor and regional Volunteer Services officer for the Red Cross Pacific Islands Region. “And she does it with a smile that makes even the busiest day feel lighter.”
Known as the silent strength behind the public‑facing workforce, JJ supports volunteers and staff with steady care and reliability, helping ensure the mission runs smoothly for the communities the Red Cross serves every day.
“JJ represents what Volunteer Services should be,” added Jaylene. “She is the welcome wagon. She makes every volunteer, new or longtime, feel like they belong here. Whatever we ask her to do, she does it, and she does it with heart.”
JJ’s work is not the kind that draws attention, and that is how she prefers it. Her impact is woven quietly through hundreds of small gestures, including checking in on volunteers, preparing materials ahead of events and helping someone on their first day feel like they have found a community. Over time, she says, the Red Cross has helped her grow too.
“Being at the Red Cross helped me come out of my shell,” she said. “I used to be very shy.”
She stays motivated by the mission and by the people around her. “People do not always want to ask for help,” she said. “But when they do, I like to see the satisfaction on their faces when we can support them.”
JJ says she feels appreciated by the team, and that appreciation goes both ways. “I really appreciate my supervisor and all our volunteers,” she said. “It makes it worthwhile. I really feel the love.”
As we continue to recognize the contributions of women during Women’s History Month, JJ’s service reflects the quiet consistency that has supported the Red Cross for generations. Her work shows how volunteers make the mission possible every day, not through spotlight moments, but through reliability, kindness and the willingness to help wherever help is needed.
To support volunteers like JJ and help strengthen your community, consider becoming a Red Cross volunteer. Learn how you can make a difference at redcross.org/volunteer.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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