Hope found at a Gala | Chicagoland ‘i have a Voice’

Gala season is kicking off and you will NOT want to miss the 2018 Chicagoland ‘i have a Voice’ Gala! This is more than your run of the mill benefit dinner.  This gala has a rocking edge, welcomes everyone and is filled to the brim with hope, inspiration, generosity, and FUN! Everyone who attends leaves with something different. Maybe it is one of the amazing auction items, maybe it is new friends, perhaps it is the satisfaction that you have joined with GiGi’s Playhouse and are helping to change the world.

We are happy to share with you today the unexpected impact gala had on a new mom!

Attending the Gala for the first time in 2016 was absolutely life-changing. Seriously, I don’t use that phrase lightly.

I went with my mom that first year. It was pretty amazing to be there with just her because she was the first person to walk into GiGi’s a couple days after Hope was born. She knew I needed support, and she knew GiGi’s would be the place to give that support. When Hope was just a month old, my mom walked through the doors of the Hoffman Estates Playhouse with me, Sarah Kate (my oldest daughter), and Hope. She was the support to get me to GiGi’s, to the place where I would not feel alone, a place I could finally feel “normal” again.  My mom is the best, and I am eternally grateful for all she has done and continues to do.

My mom and I sat at a table with a group of wonderful people. There was a new set of parents there with their beautiful daughter and then a group of friends who came to support GiGi’s Playhouse because a friend of a friend’s daughter had Down syndrome. The room was full of people, most of them I didn’t know. Most of them were not the parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles I had met at the Playhouse.

I was so excited to be there, I literally was giddy with excitement. There was a beautiful dance performed by Bella Gianni, GiGi Gianna, and others. There was Rob Johnson from CBS news, who just spoke so beautifully about his brother and being an advocate for Down syndrome. A video played with parents I knew from the playhouse, I remember enthusiastically turning to my mom and the people at my table and telling them all the moms’ names and their children’s names. How the people were my great friends and how much their friendships and children meant to me. Then, of course, there was Nancy, she gets me each and every time. She truly is the Chief Belief Officer. I sat there with tears in my eyes, as she talked about what kids with Down syndrome could do, about the amazing programming GiGi’s Playhouse offers, and all for FREE. I sat there and felt inspired for the future for my baby girl.

Then the bidding started and that is when things changed for me. At that point in time, I was still so unbelievably scared of the world for Hope and Sarah Kate.

I worried about how people would treat Hope, would they be accepting and kind? Would they be mean just because of her diagnosis? Would kids be cruel to Sarah Kate? Hope wears her diagnosis on her face, she can’t hide it from the world, no matter how hard I try to protect her. That had been something I had worried about each day since Hope was born. However, something shifted in my thinking that night. Something gave me HOPE for the future. I sat there in a packed room, essentially of strangers and people just started raising their bidding paddles. People who didn’t have a loved one with Down syndrome, people who just BELIEVED in people with Down syndrome, like my baby girl and all my newfound friends’ kids. These generous people were giving money, and lots of it, to GiGi’s Playhouse. Each person at my table donated money. I felt the need to say thank you, and to explain to them how much this meant to all the parents out there. Every time a paddle went up around me, I just looked around in awe of the kindness, and the extreme generosity of strangers. Strangers who were donating money to a place that gives free programming to my child and other children so they can reach their full potential, a place that fights for acceptance for all. Strangers who wanted to help, strangers who were kind. That night gave me hope for the world, for those outside the Down syndrome community. The kindness of those hundreds of strangers who were there to support my kid, strangers that would most definitely teach their children and others about kindness, acceptance, and the true ability of those with Down syndrome. It was a beautiful feeling, and I will never forget that night as long as I live. I left feeling less worried about the future for both my girls and for a new mom on this Down syndrome journey, that’s priceless.

I didn’t even have to tell my mom my thoughts and feelings, she knew. She saw my face and she saw my reaction. So the next year when the Gala tickets went on sale my mom and dad made sure it was on the calendar. They told me they wanted to purchase a table, a table filled with moms I had met at GiGi’s Playhouse, moms who were now like family to me. They knew how awesome the Gala experience was for me and they wanted that for my friends as well. My parents are pretty amazing people, believe me I know I won the parental lottery. Again I sat there in awe of all the people there to support GiGi’s and individuals with Down syndrome. It was a night of celebration for us moms. A night celebrating our beautiful bond and this amazing organization. It was highly emotional and one of the greatest nights in my life. We cried, we laughed, and we danced all night long. I don’t think I can put into words the bond us moms share. We love each other fiercely, we would walk to the ends of the earth to support all our kids and make the world a better place for our kids. We are beyond grateful for GiGi’s Playhouse for believing in our kids and bringing us all together. Our community is stronger together and GiGi’s makes sure we have chances to build those relationships.

Preparations are underway for Gala 2018! Watch out, Gala peeps, there will be a whole table of moms, with big hearts, big emotions, ready to have a ton of fun, and dance all night long. I hope to see you there.

Join our black tie event with a-rockin’ edge! Singles, couples, rockers, and corporate America come together to celebrate Down syndrome! YOU should be there too!

Get your table/tickets HERE