On June 7, 2025, AYLUS Roslyn volunteers visited CP Nassau’s residential home located in Hicksville. When we arrived at the residential home, we started out by greeting the residents with warm smiles and hellos. Since it was really nice outside and very warm we decided to take the residents for a walk so they can enjoy the sunshine and weather. Each volunteer pushed a resident around and it was really enjoyable for both us and the residents as we got to explore the neighborhood together.
After we finished our trip, we started to bake a mochi cake. Since we had never made this type of cake before, we were a little unsure of how it would turn out. Each resident poured in the ingredients and mixed the cake batter. After the batter was complete, the residents wanted to pour it into the baking pan and we helped guide them. It took about 30-40 minutes to bake and during that time, we did more activities. Each resident did something different. We split up and each assisted a resident in what they desired to do. Some residents wanted to play with the games that we had brought while others wanted to play music or do arts and crafts. There was a darts game but instead of darts it was balls with velcro that would attach to the board. A particular resident found this game very fun so we played it for a few rounds. While that was going on another resident was playing music and doing arts and crafts.
Although some residents didn’t want to do arts and crafts, we still made something for each of them. During this time, the cake had finished baking. We allowed it to rest for a few minutes before cutting into it and sharing it with the residents and staff.
The staff loved the cake and the residents also enjoyed it. Some of the residents had to eat the cake pureed and we helped feed them so they could enjoy the cake that they helped make. After we finished eating, we tried to go on another journey but the weather restricted us from going. Even though we couldn’t go outside we had as much fun inside by doing more activities and games. We played ring toss and music. These minigames were a great way for some of the residents to exercise.
By this point some of the residents were starting to get tired so we called it a day. We said goodbye to everyone and thanked the staff. It was a really fun experience for the residents and us volunteers. We learned a lot from this experience and hope to be back soon!
Volunteers that participated: Max Li (3 Hours), Leo Zheng (3 Hours), Michael Zhang (3 Hours)
Reporter: Michael Zhang
