On Sunday, March 24th, members of the Roslyn AYLUS branch volunteered at one of CP Nassau’s group homes in Bethpage from 1:00pm to 4:00pm. CP Nassau, the Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, is an organization dedicated to helping children and adults with disabilities reach their greatest level of independence. The group homes provide a quality homelike environment for adults with cerebral palsy.
Today, volunteers brought supplies for many different activities, including arts and crafts, cooking, and different games to this group home that has 5 residents. We started with arts and crafts, where the residents gathered together to build and paint birdhouses and wind chimes together. We helped the residents choose between 4 different birdhouses and 2 different wind chimes to build, and helped wash brushes and set up different colored paints. After they painted their birdhouses and wind chimes, they chose decorations and designs for their projects. We cleaned up after arts and crafts, and we began baking. Volunteers brought brownie mix and helped set up ingredients and materials for the baking. The volunteers measured ingredients for the residents to use and mix into the batter. The residents loved chocolate and poured a generous amount of chocolate chips in the batter. While waiting for the brownies to bake, residents played with a giant connect four game in the living room. They enjoyed using the giant board and playing with each other. Since we made so much brownie batter, the brownies baked for over half an hour, which left time for bingo. Volunteers helped distribute boards and pieces, and helped the residents keep track of the game. Finally, after 3 games of bingo, the brownies finished baking and the residents, employees, and volunteers were excited to enjoy the brownies filled with chocolate chips.
Throughout the different activities, the different residents had different independence levels and required different aid from the volunteers. For instance, there was one resident who couldn’t hear and required communication and help through visual aid. There was another resident who needed more hand over hand assistance with arts and crafts. There was also a resident who preferred to do things on her own. We learned a lot from the employees that worked there; they were familiar with each residents’ individual preferences.
Overall, the residents had fun with the different activities and the volunteers enjoyed helping the residents through the baking, arts and crafts, and the games. It requires patience, flexibility, and an open mind to work with the residents. The residents and the employees were very appreciative of the time we spent with them and the volunteers were very glad to hear that. However, the employees at the group houses are true heroes. They worked with the residents on a daily basis and offered us professional suggestions and assistance while we were there. We are very glad to be part of their work and we are grateful to be given the opportunities to learn from them.
Participants:
Angelika Jiang (3 hours), Brooke Zheng (3 hours), Leo Zheng (3 hours), Maxim Li (3 hours), and Michael Zhang (2.5 hours)
Reporter: Brooke Zheng
