By Pat Kiernan and Chelsea Katz

Every swing and every hit here is a point in Sokie Lee’s heart.

“It’s about the process of playing,” she said. “I think the playing thing is more important than winning.”

Lee is a volunteer with PingPongParkinson. The organization holds sessions for people with Parkinson’s disease to get moving.

“Ping-pong is good for cognition, flexibility and coordination,” she said.

The cause is close to Lee’s heart — her mother had atypical Parkinson’s.

“That’s always been in the back of my mind because I love my mom and I miss her,” Lee said.

It isn’t the only place where the Kips Bay resident volunteers her time. She’s involved in six organizations and initiatives throughout the city.

“Volunteering is something very positive that I can do; that I’m actually helping people in my own small way,” Lee said.

She has been volunteering with the Downtown Boathouse, getting people on the water, for two decades. Lee also started a trash pickup group during the pandemic.

She and her partner, Ken Gray, also lead free tai chi classes in Madison Square Park.

“It’s easy in New York to kind of put yourself in a cocoon and not do anything,” Gray said. “And this is a way to reach out.”

A little farther uptown, Lee teaches Chinese mahjong at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House’s older adult center at Saint Peter’s Church.

“It’s called ‘mahjong therapy’ because it’s therapy for the mind,” Lee said. “Therapy for the- therapy for the social aspect of it.”

To read the entire article and to view the NY1 story: https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2026/07/17/new-yorker-of-the-week–sokie-lee