On August 12, we visited a new assisted living facility, Indigo at Elmhurst. Unlike the previous visits, this program only consisted of musical performances. The facility was a lot bigger, and many of the residents had dementia or other medical needs, which made the visit feel more chaotic than our previous experiences. Although the show ended sooner than we had wanted, most of the residents still seemed to enjoy our performances, and it was nice seeing them listen and react to the music. I also noticed that the nursing home needed more help with volunteer work, since many residents were wheelchair users with difficulty moving around. This visit made me realize that volunteering at assisted living facilities is not always about having a perfectly organized activity, and sometimes simply performing for the residents or helping them. I was glad that we were able to spend time with the residents and hopefully make their day a little more enjoyable.

Luyang

On July 12, I went back to Sunrise Assisted Living with our group, and there were a lot more residents this time because the program had become more popular. This was our second visit with the same assisted living home, so we created a new game so they wouldn’t get bored. We also wanted to include different gameplay because it would require a different recall process, which would correlate in helping the older people.  We started with an intro and a trivia game, and there was a lot more participation than during our first visit. We also handed out prizes. Although some of the residents were a little confused by certain questions, they still seemed to enjoy participating. Speaking more slowly or using a microphone in the future could make it easier for everyone to hear and understand, as many of them couldn’t see the screen or needed the question to be repeated. Ian also did a magic show, which was really fun because the residents were amazed and confused by the tricks. We had some musical performances at the end as well, although they were shorter than the first time. Personally, I thought this visit was more exciting because more people joined in, and I think asking questions in between activities, such as whether someone had been to a Michael Jackson concert, could make the program even more interactive, even without any medical knowledge.

Luyang

On June 17, I went to Sunrise Assisted Living with the group and helped welcome the senior residents to our afternoon program. This was our first event, and our main goal was to try to help them maintain their memories by playing games, performing, etc. We started with musical performances, mostly with piano, along with one flute piece and some jokes in between. After that, we played a music guessing game where the residents guessed the songs we played, and prizes were given out for correct answers. At first, interacting with the residents felt a little awkward because some of them had trouble hearing us, but eventually everyone became more comfortable and started laughing and having fun together, and one lady guessed around 19 out of the 25 songs we played. This had surprised me, along with another lady who had previously played Fantasy Impromptu, which was the song Ian performed on piano. I really wanted the residents to enjoy the program, and seeing them have fun made me realize that interacting with people from a very different age group can still be enjoyable and meaningful.

Luyang