An Emsworth man was named "Volunteer of the Month" for September by the American Red Cross Southwestern Pennsylvania Chapter.

Dan Lenz volunteers as a member of the Red Cross Disaster Action Team (DAT), which responds to house fires, flooding and other emergencies, helping victims find food, shelter and other necessities. A volunteer for the past four and a half years, Lenz also trains new DAT members and works as part of the the group's public affairs team.

Recently, he faced an emergency of a different nature. A group of teenagers and their adults chaperones were on their way home to Detroit from a festival in Pennsylvania when their bus broke down on the Pennsylvania turnpike near Gibsonia. Short on money and facing a major bus repair, the group had been stranded for three hours when Lenz got the call to help. He went to work, locating a bus company that would transport the group.

Lenz has found his experience with the Red Cross beneficial in many ways.

"It makes you a better person, because you gain more knowledge," he said. "I believe it would be a better world if everyone volunteered in some fashion."

Lenz also works with his Rottweiler, Lady, to collect pet food for animals at Animal Friends and the Western pennsylvania Humane Society, and delivers dog and cat food to low-income families.

"I can't stand to hear about a hungry animal," Lenz said.