Lastly in our season of gratefulness, we want to give a special THANK YOU to our incredible volunteers who are at the heart of Child Life Disaster Relief. This past year we had 35 volunteers deploy with Children’s Disaster Services teams to 8 national disasters. These include: Missouri Tornadoes, The Mariposa, CA Wildfires, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, the Las Vegas Massacre, and the Northern California Wildfires. Several of these responders were able to share a bit of their experience with us over email, or through their “Lifeline” (see below), or publicly via our blog. We have been blown away by their experiences and their contribution.
In addition, each responder was assigned a “Lifeline” as their extended support from afar. The Lifeline is someone who is a certified child life specialists with deployment experience. That volunteer maintains contact with the CLDR member throughout their deployment and provides support with tangible advice (what to pack, what to expect) and emotional support. With multiple deployments happening at once, we asked quite a lot of our 11 child life specialists currently in this role and they enthusiastically fulfilled these responsibilities.
Finally, each and every one of those listed below were only able to provide their services because of the support from their loved ones and work places allowing them to step away. To those individuals and organizations supporting our volunteers: Thank You! Your value of this work contributes more than you know.
It is quite an honor serving children and families in crisis with each of you. A thousand times, Thank You!
Abby Youngblom – Hurricane Harvey
Alexis Mauel – California wildfires
Angie Bradley – Hurricane Harvey
Anna Montgomery – California Wildfire
Bailea Scanlon – Las Vegas
Bethany Petersen – Hurricane Irma
Betsy Hillyard – Hurricane Harvey
Caitlin Jenson – California wildfire
Caley Johns – Hurricane Harvey
Cassie Wiley Morrison – Hurricane Harvey
Crystal Baker – California Oroville Dam
Elizabeth Hines – Hurricane Harvey and Lifeline
Erin Silber – Lifeline
Gail Klayman – Hurricane Harvey and Lifeline
Jessica Huerta – Hurricane Harvey
Julianne Gaspard – Hurricane Harvey
Karla Edwards – Hurricane Harvey and Lifeline
Katie Nees – Las Vegas and Lifeline
Kelsey Loftus – Lifeline
Kimberlie Dahlstrom – Hurricane Harvey
Kristen Cady – California Wildfire
Krystle Susmani – Hurricane Harvey
Laura Sonefeld – Hurricane Harvey
Leah Nawrocki – Hurricane Harvey
Lindsey Murphy – Missouri Tornadoes, Las Vegas, and Lifeline
Lisa Crouch – Hurricane Harvey and Lifeline
Monika Fairley – Hurricane Harvey
Paula Hampel – Lifeline
Rachel Erler – Missouri Tornado
Samira Moosavi – Las Vegas and Lifeline
Sarah Pfeifer – Missouri Tornado
Stephanie Michel – Hurricane Harvey and Lifeline
Susan “Boon” Murray – California Oroville Dam, Hurricane Irma, and Las Vegas
Whitney Brosey – Hurricane Harvey
Zoe Growald – Hurricane Harvey
