While most stores, businesses and government agencies closed up shop on Christmas Day, Dana Jones managed a pool of volunteers for 11 hours because Hawaii’s monk seals didn’t get the memo that Santa Claus had come to town.

"Seals are never predictable," Jones, the Oahu volunteer coordinator for the Monk Seal Foundation, said last week. "We can’t tell them, ‘Please haul out at this beach because we have a person available today.’"

Jones has worked tirelessly for the past several years as the foundation’s volunteer coordinator on Oahu. She receives reports of Hawaiian monk seals basking on beaches all over Oahu at all hours of the day and is responsible for dispatching volunteers to the site to make sure the playful, sun-bathing critters stay safe and wild.

Weekends, holidays — even her own vacations — are all fair game.

"No matter what’s going on, her attitude is just amazing," Jones’ friend and fellow Monk Seal Foundation volunteer Elizabeth Weske said. "All the volunteers adore her; she’s very friendly and outgoing."

Although Jones receives a small stipend for her work through a federal grant obtained by the foundation, Weske said the job has often ventured into true "volunteer" status.

"Financially it’s challenging to do something like this because there’s no money involved," she said.

In nominating her for the Star-Advertiser’s Heroes Next Door series, Weske noted Jones’ limitless passion and dedication, optimistic, caring and gentle demeanor, and that "there isn’t a lot of award in what she does other than personally knowing that she’s helping the animals."

Weske added, "She really is so deserving of this because she never gets any credit. The monk seals frequently make the news, but the people behind the monk seals do not."

Weske said Jones is also quick to dismiss her own good deeds and turn the spotlight on her volunteers. She is always thinking of ways to thank them and recently hosted a potluck picnic for her volunteers that featured music, T-shirts and prizes, Weske said.

"(That) is the way Dana is," she said. "She always wants to make sure everyone else is appreciated, not herself."

Jones showed that side of her personality when she told the Star-Advertiser that she feels honored to work with her "super-, super-dedicated" volunteers.

"They make me look good," she said. "We have a lot of fabulous people that give their time and energy and love to the animals and I have to say that they’re the heroes as far as I’m concerned."

In addition to her work coordinating volunteers, which Weske said can take many phone calls or emails to get just one person to head to a beach, Jones maintains a database of the roughly 200 volunteers she manages, trains volunteers, hauls equipment around the island in her personal vehicle and plans community outreach events.

"We don’t want to just be a bunch of people out there saying, ‘You can’t get next to that seal,’" Jones said. "We want the community to be aware … of why this is so critical."

The Hawaiian monk seal is native to Hawaii and found nowhere else in the world, according to the foundation. The largest portion of the population lives in the northwest chain of islands, but the seals increasingly have been moving down to more populated areas.

"The monk seal is Hawaiian; if we live here, we need to take care of what is native," Jones said.

Fewer than 1,100 seals remain in the islands, and the population continues to decline by about 4 percent per year, according to the foundation.

Jones said she dedicates much of her time to saving marine life because she holds out hope — as many have over the past few decades regarding humpback whale and sea turtle populations.

"I’ve always worked with turtles and marine mammals, from living in Florida to moving to Oahu seven or eight years ago," Jones said. "If you can save species in your lifetime, then you’ve done something worth- while in your life, is how I look at it."

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About this series: The Honolulu Star-Advertiser recently asked readers to help shine a light on the good works of a few true unsung heroes. Readers responded with nominees from divergent walks of island life who share a common desire to help others. Star-Advertiser editors chose six Heroes Next Door who will be highlighted in stories through Monday.