#10 – Meet the Rockstar Leaders
We’ve made it to day 10 of this rockstar series! Thank you for sticking with us and learning more about the individuals who participated in the spring 2024 GiGi Prep & Achievers programs. We highly encourage you to scroll through the blog if you missed any.
Like all programs here at GiGi’s, this program was made possible thanks to generous donations, grants, and volunteers.
Today, we’d like to introduce you to the leaders and assistants who were here every Tuesday & Wednesday for 6 weeks. Without them, these programs would not have been as successful as they were.
Below we will share a few quotes from and information about each leader plus a few quotes from parents too!
Program Leaders
Ms. Ann
Ms. Ann is our Education Coordinator and Speech Pathologist here at GiGi’s. She planned the agendas and activities for each date. She shared the following #BestofAll quote.
A group Best of All moment was when we learned how to add a contact in our phones. Ms. Ann shared he cell number and confirmed our close relationships. I smile every time a get a message from my achievers squad.
Ms. Deb
Ms. Deb is also known as Riley’s mom. She assists with our Adult Group Speech program and was excited to assist with the Prep & Achievers programs too.
I enjoy working with Ann and the programs!! Meeting the wonderful kids!! And welcoming a wonderful new friendship!!! It makes me look forward to the day when I am going to see all my wonderful friends!! ❤️
Ms. Colleen
Ms. Colleen has become a friendly face here at the Playhouse. Along with Ms. Deb she assists with our Adult Group Speech program and was “talked into” helping with the Prep & Achievers programs. We’re glad she was! She took on the reorganization of our kitchen space as a lesson and she left it looking so much better than it did. She also introduced the art of watercolors to the group and you’ll see some of those art projects fluttering and floating around our Playhouse soon.
There were so many things that happened during our Achievers program. Darrian really blossomed, Matthew was a rock star during the kitchen remodel, Caitlyn started showing a fun, more relaxed side of her personality that I hadn’t seen before. These are just a couple of the milestones that I noticed.
Ms. Aryn
Ms. Aryn is a St Ambrose University Intern here for the spring. She is not only assisting with these programs but also tutoring, and helping plan, assist, and lead other group programs. She’s been very busy!
As an intern who knew nothing about this program or how any of it worked, I had so much fun getting to know the group and helping them get excited to learn topics that help them achieve their best of all! It was fun leading them in conversations about the skills, and conversations about what they were doing that day, or how their week was going! It was also really fun watching them learn how to take better pictures with their phones, some of them found details in the playhouse that I had no idea were even there! Overall, it was great experience for me and the participants to learn!
Parents had this to say:
Absolutely wonderful experience!
He had such a great time! I appreciate all that you do!
Loved that they learned new skills and made new friends too!
Thank you to the Moline Regional Foundation and United Way Quad Cities for the grant funding to help offset some of the costs associated with these programs. While programs are always free for our families, they are not free for us to offer especially when the program meets twice a week and involves grocery shopping and cooking!
