What does GiGi’s Playhouse Detroit Mean to You?
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! We want to let you all know how truly wonderful you are. How loved you are. How cherished and appreciated you are. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU for making such a huge impact on not only our Playhouse but our participants, families...
Common Myths About Being A Tutor
Myth: "I need teaching experience to be a good tutor". Fact: The greatest quality one needs to tutor effectively is a willingness to learn and try. Most of our tutors have other backgrounds like engineering, med school students, high school students, psychology etc. We provide lots of training, both at the...
Volunteer Appreciation Award
There are many elements that go into a successful program: research-based instruction, multi-sensory approaches, individualized adaptations, and one of the most important ingredients: love for our participants. It is plain to see the love our volunteers have for the participants in each program. So many of them come early, stay...
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT: Axelle Ballarin
Guest Blogger: Elie Kim, sister of one of our participants and young volunteer for our playhouse- age 16 Axelle Ballarin is an astounding GiGi's volunteer. As she has volunteered at GiGi's for almost a few years, Axelle has made a huge impact on the community through her love and enthusiasm...
The Royal Oak Community Starts Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day Early!
If you or a loved one have participated in Kids Club, Art Explosion, Fantastic Friends, or attended one of our fundraisers, you’ve probably met our amazing volunteer Tamara. She is a co-leader for all of those programs and helps out with many others when possible. She and her family have...
Literacy Tutoring and Kendyl’s Best of All
“What I love most about reading: It gives you the ability to reach higher ground. And keep climbing.” ― Oprah Winfrey Like everyone in the world, the ability to read opens doors for individuals with Down syndrome in all areas of life - including but not limited to - the...
Caring Hands ~ Blanket Making Event with WSU
Over the years GiGi’s Playhouse Detroit and Wayne State University have partnered in many impactful ways: through grad students leading our Amina Grace Speech Therapy Program, pre-med students assisting with group programs and tutoring, and most recently, a community service group called Caring Hands reached out to us with an...
Volunteer Spotlight: Jelena Verkler
Allow us to introduce you to the wonderful Jelena Verkler! Jelena began volunteering at GiGi's Playhouse Detroit in December 2022, by jumping right in with participants in Kids Club, Open Play, Drama Troupe, and as a Literacy Tutor! Jelena shows up week after week with the best attitude, and everyone...
Spotlight on Drama Troupe & Aric’s #BestOfAll
"I regard the theater as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it’s like to be a human being." – Oscar Wilde. Since we began offering Drama Troupe in 2020, the goal has always...
Volunteer Spotlight: Lauren Leotti
We are incredibly fortunate to have Lauren Leotti on our team of volunteers, faithfully supporting our programs and operations as an assistant with Drama Troupe, GiGiFIT Toddler, and LMNOP, as well as tutoring individuals in Math and Literacy. Lauren brings unparalleled intelligence, patience, creativity, and warmth to her relationships with...
Program Leader Spotlight: Meghan Zidar
At the end of this past spring, our long time and fabulous leader of GiGiFIT Toddler, Denise Hubbard, let us know she needed to take a break. Of course we were going to miss Denise, and for a short time we weren't sure what would happen with this invaluable program....
Changing How the World Views Down Syndrome
444 Students 23 Teachers 6 Grade levels 1 School helping with 1 Mission: To Change the Way the World Views Down Syndrome. Guest post by Kathleen Tynes Addams Elementary School in Royal Oak has been a long-time supporter of GiGi’s Playhouse Detroit. Back in 2022, Sarah, a parent from our...