On September 6th, 2025, AYLUS Oakland Gardens held its 192nd event from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Harvest Church of New York. During the event, we partnered with the Little Neck Chinese Community Center and the Harvest Church to help set up and clean up for a ceremony commemorating the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
We arrived at the location an hour before the ceremony started in order to help clean and transport chairs from the patio to the garden where the ceremony was being held. We also helped place American flags and flowers at the ceremony area.
The ceremony began with a minute of silence to honor those who died during the 9/11 attacks, followed by a display of flashing lights from a police car, fire truck, and ambulance. Jamie Wu performed the Star-Spangled Banner before we stood for the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, led by Aiden Wang and Mikayla Fang.
Mudao Xiao, Chief Pastor of the Harvest Church, then performed a blessing and led a prayer before Yanling Zhang read the names of the first responders and victims of the attacks in the Little Neck area. This was followed by speeches from local government officials and first responders, including New York City Councilwoman from the 19th district Vickie Paladino, FDNY Engine 313 Ladder 164’s Lieutenant Rivera, Community Affairs Officer of NYPD’s 11th Precinct Michael Cillis, and 1st Vice President of LNDCAC Olivia Lee.
Afterwards, some time was allocated for people to share their memories of 9/11. Many people shared touching accounts of their experiences. The ceremony concluded with a memorial concert by the Tarumi Violinists, during which various patriotic songs were played.
After the end of the event, we transported the chairs back to the patio and helped collect the flags that we had placed in the ceremony area.
Thank you to the Harvest Church and the Little Neck Community Center for organizing the event and inviting us to help out those who spoke at the event, as well as the volunteers from the Boy Scouts and the Tarumi Violinists.
We would like to especially thank the brave first responders who attended the ceremony and whose work helps keep New York City safe and healthy. We were honored by the opportunity to help remember those who died during the 9/11 attacks and the brave heroes who stepped up at the moment. They are gone, but not forgotten.
Our Volunteers:
1. Jia Qi Liu : 3 hours
2. Hong Hao Liu : 3 hours
3. Sophia ShiHan You : 3 hours
4. Stephanie ShiRan You : 3 hours
5. Vicki Lin : 3 hours
6. Ioknor Lin : 3 hours
7. Selena ShiYan You : 3 hours
8. Sophia Lu : 3 hours
9. Alexander Lu : 3 hours
10. Sophia Xu : 3 hours
11. Anthony Xu : 3 hours
12. Nicky Wong: 3 hours
13. Ashlee Chen : 3 hours
14. Janice Ma : 3 hours
15. Anthony Lin : 3 hours
16. Fayee Chen : 3 hours
17. Kaisa Wu : 3 hours
18. Elina Lee : 3 hours
19. Ian Lee : 3 hours
20. Ryan Wu : 3 hours
21. Queenie Qiu : 3 hours
22. Cynthia Shi : 3 hours
23. Tiffany Kong : 3 hours
24. Matthew Lin : 3 hours
Parent Adviser Team:
Fannie Li: 4 hours
Karen Liao: 4 hours
Faye Liu: 4 hours
Report Written by: Anthony Lin
Reviewed by: Jia Qi (Angela) Liu
