Naperville Asian community center has expanded, and seniors like their space
There's really no comparison between the new and the old for the Xilin Association Asian Community Center in Naperville, except both are in the same strip mall.
The cultural center serving a population mainly of Chinese descent, with a few Korean, Taiwanese and Indian participants, moved in late March to its new space at 1163 E. Ogden Ave., Suite 610. The 21,824-square-foot facility is several storefronts down from the old 13,750-square-foot center in Suite 301, but it's a world away in terms of convenience and suitability for programs the association offers for seniors and children, leaders say.
"It's bigger and people like it," building coordinator John Li said. "Seniors like it. They have much more space."
There are eight activity rooms in the new space instead of four, two dance studios instead of none, two lunch rooms instead of one, two nap rooms - one each for women and men - instead of a couch here or there, two entrances - including one for senior drop-off and pickup - instead of one cramped doorway, and even two sets of bathrooms, one with a family space in case anyone needs help with a diaper change.
Ping Xia, manager of adult day care services, said the new space already has allowed more seniors to participate in the program, which offers lunch, music, dance, cards and companionship to ward off loneliness. At the old space, a maximum of 90 seniors attended each day, and in the new, the population already has risen to 100, Xia said.
When the center first made the move, some of the oldest and most forgetful participants were wary. Xia said one woman carried her purse around all day, unsure where she was. Another, confused, said she wanted to go home.
But excitement among staff members and participants helped ease the transition.
"By now it's much better," Xia said.
Walk inside the new space and greeter Mohammed Waheed - or his cellphone - will welcome you in, depending on your native language.
"Welcome to our center," he speaks in English into the audio translation app he quickly realized he'd need, since many Xilin Association participants use primarily languages spoken in China.
"I talk to them in Chinese," he said.
Walk back to the gym room and there's likely to be two or three games of table tennis going on, not far from a multipurpose room where seniors practice singing. Elsewhere, other seniors may be returning from a morning walk Xia calls their "recess" or doing a traditional dance.
The community center in Naperville is one of five for the Xilin Association, established in 2003, which also has sites in Arlington Heights, Elgin and Chicago's Chinatown and Pilsen neighborhoods. The nonprofit association focuses on youth education, performing arts, health and adult day care, offering services such as in-home help for seniors, a Chinese school, an after-school program and a dance program in conjunction with the Naperville Park District.
In the old space, it was hard for all these programs to coexist, Director June Yang said. Hosting seniors for their midday meal was especially challenging.
The old space lacked the electric capacity to run more than three hot water urns for tea, and the toaster and microwave couldn't be used at the same time. Now there is a whole line of tea urns, three microwaves and a full kitchen that was busy last week preparing for a celebration of the Dragon Boat Festival on Friday.
Inside the kitchen, Xilin Association senior participant Fuying Hu and staff member Sufen Yang folded bamboo leaves and stuffed them with sweet rice and dates to make one traditional treat for each of the 100 adult day care participants.
"It releases a very special flavor to the rice," Yang said as she grabbed the next bamboo leaf.
Aside from more room for participants, the new community center also gives employees more spacious offices to coordinate home care plans for seniors or other programs in health, arts, language and culture.