On Saturday, Mar 2, 2024, Aylus participants went to a Residential House located in East Meadow which is run by the Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County. While it may have been pouring and gloomy outside, inside it clearly was not. We had plenty of fun and the residents wished for us to visit
again soon.
The Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County has been assisting individuals with disabilities since 1948. Today, close to 1,500 children and adults with developmental disabilities benefit from the quality programs and services offered that help all move forward to reach independence and their best life.
After a brief introduction of ourselves, we started doing activities. The first activity was playing instruments and singing. Isabelle brought her violin and piano and played a few really beautiful pieces of music. Then, we sang Old MacDonald Had A Farm and handed out instruments for everyone to play with. Next, we baked thin oatmeal cookies. Jenna brought ingredients which were oatmeal, butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour. We helped the residents participate in this activity by helping them add ingredients and mix together. The house was full of sweet smell. When we finished baking, we shared the cookies with each other and we all enjoyed them! After this activity we showed the residents a few magic tricks with the cards. We took a break playing with cards. Then we played some bowling which was really fun. Time flew so fast. Everyone had an incredible time doing these activities together.
Cerebral Palsy is a condition where an individual loses some of their ability to move and their coordination. Often, they are lonely, confined to wheelchairs or the 4 walls of their home. ALYUS comes to bring joy to these residents. Our first activity was painting birdhouses, which we all enjoyed. The residents used bright colors and striking patterns to attract birds. Next, we made tie-dye clothes. One of the residents said tie-dye was her favorite activity, enthusiastically making a rainbow tote bag and a blue tee shirt for a friend. Then, we made brownies. All residents were very enthusiastic in all steps mixing, pouring, and adding plenty of chocolate! While the brownies were baking, some
residents opted to play a velcro dart game, while others made bracelets. One made a bracelet with all the words that described herself, and one cracked jokes while playing the velcro dart game. When the delicious brownies came out of the oven, everyone was more than ready to eat them. There were plenty of brownies to go around, and staff members enjoyed them too. When we were leaving, the residents and the manager asked us to come back soon!
The most rewarding part of this was being able to see the joy and happiness that we could bring to these residents. This will be something we will remember for a lifetime, and I hope this will inspire us to help even more people. Even helping out with the smallest tasks can make a real difference to the people in need. To give is to receive. We all enjoyed staying with the residents and hope to come back soon!
Members who participated include:
3.5 hours: Zihan Wang, Angelika Jiang, Brooke Zheng, Letao Tao
3 hours: Leo Zheng, Max Li, Isabelle Tsui, Michael Zhang
Reporter: Michael Zhang & Letao Tao
