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A Big-League Volunteer for Generations of Kids
By Susan Kreimer
NEW HYDE PARK — Mike Oshinsky attends
religious services every morning. His Jewish faith
has taught him the importance of visiting and
comforting the sick.
With that in mind, he started volunteering
nearly 29 years ago at what’s now known as the
Cohen Children’s Medical Center (CCMC). For full
days on Tuesday and Thursday, he volunteers in the
Hematology/Oncology Unit.
“I had retired and I was looking for something
to do,” said Mr. Oshinsky, 83, who lives in North
Woodmere and is still involved in commercial
real estate. “Friends of mine recommended that I
volunteer at the hospital.”
Believing that “young people keep you young,”
he quickly aligned himself with helping pediatric
patients. “Obviously, it went well. I’m still there.”
A Child Life Program didn’t exist at the
time. “It was up to the volunteers to do whatever
they thought they should do to keep the children
occupied and busy,” Mr. Oshinsky recalled. “And
that’s what we did.”
He supplied the playroom with a lot of fun
stuff. Friends from various businesses donated
baseball hats and sticker books. He obtained the
stickers at wholesale prices. “What I couldn’t get
donated,” Mr. Oshinsky said, “I bought.”
CCMC’s Child Life Department now manages
special events and donations for patients, said
Maxine Legall, coordinator of volunteer services.
Mr. Oshinsky also made contacts with the New
York Islanders — a top hockey team in those days,
having won four Stanley Cups. In September 1984,
he brought one of the team’s core players, Bryan
Trottier, for a visit.
“The Islanders have been coming to the
hospital ever since,” said Mr. Oshinsky, a sports
enthusiast who plays racquetball and tennis. “It’s an
Islander tradition to visit the hospital every year.”
The New York Jets and the Mets have also comforted
children in the hospital.
The benefits of aging well and giving back to
the community complement each other. Marilyn
Oshinsky, his wife of 62 years, volunteered in the
hospital’s gift shop in the mid- to late 1980s.
“You have to keep your mind active,” Mr.
44 Summer 2012
Oshinsky says. “You have to keep your body active.
You have to keep your soul active. You do all three.”
Danielle Davis, a certified Child Life specialist
in hematology/oncology, is in awe of Mr. Oshinsky’s
knack for connecting with youngsters.
“Mike has this amazing ability to form a
relationship with a child of any age, gender or
cultural background. He truly makes a lasting
impression,” Ms. Davis says. “It’s clear how
much of a difference he makes in the lives of our
patients and families, when they continue to talk
about him and remember him long after their
treatment is finished.”
Above: Volunteer Mike Oshinsky and a young
patient are clearly connecting at the CCMC.