Virtual Volunteering: Songbird Hosts Third Stay-At-Home Service

On Saturday, March 6th, the Songbird Youth Volunteer Group hosted their third stay-at-home service for the Oak Ridge Senior Housing Center in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. The NNJCA Songbird Youth Volunteer Organization consists of musically gifted and talented youth who want to spread a message of kindness to the community. For this event, the group remembered their roots - Songbird's first performance in 2015 was also at Oak Ridge - so they wanted to give back to the community that helped them to grow and develop. In total, 11 Songbird members and 26 Ridge Oak senior housing residents participated in the Spring virtual concert.

Preparations for the virtual event began a week prior. Songbird members met on Zoom to formulate a plan and discuss the potential performances each member could offer. During the meeting, it was discussed who would host the concert, who would be the technician, and who would be the performers. It was brought up that performances could be diversified, and not be limited to only music. Creatively, a member proposed the idea of a "live cooking show" and a brief introduction to "Chinese sayings and tongue twisters". Linking these ideas with the recent Chinese New Year, they were finalized to become a cooking show about Tang Yuan (sweet rice balls) and an interactive introduction to Chinese New Year sayings and tongue twisters. In addition, the program also included several other performances: an Erhu piece (a traditional Chinese violin-like instrument) titled "The Sound of Birds in the Empty Mountains", a piano piece titled "Elegie", a Chinese Yo-yo (Diabolo) performance, and two group performances.

The hour-long event was a success, as there were warm joyful smiles all around - from both Songbird members and the residents. Connie Ledder, Recreation Director of the Oak Ridge Senior Housing Center, invited Songbird to continue hosting services. Hopefully, after vaccines are distributed and other safety measures are practiced, this next service will be able to be in-person!

"Songbird, Songbird, in the sky! Spread your wings and we will fly!"