Healing by Sharing the Love

June 28^th was a memorable day in Annapolis. Little did we know what was happening less than a mile away when the following note was written by one of our GiGi’s Playhouse volunteers.  In retrospect, the situations couldn’t be more opposite.

To lose the lives of the five employees of the Capital Gazette was a devastating tragedy.  GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis has worked closely with the Capital Gazette during our Grand Opening and other events and we want to honor that relationship and give our heartfelt support to their community. We also want to highlight the good that was happening in the same neighborhood at the same time. Annapolis will always be a close-knit community.

On that fateful day we had a contingent of middle school students from the Asbury Church Impact Group in Arnold come to volunteer with our Playhouse youth ages 3-8. The theme was Red, White and Blue and they led us in decorating flag cookies, making fruit kabobs, and as many camps do, getting a little messy with a tie-dye project. The following is a note from a parent volunteer attending the event.

“We had such a meaningful morning in so many ways. The participants had a wide range of abilities. The middle school youth group were timid at first, but with a touch of 

Colton connects with his new friends from Asbury Church.

encouragement started interacting and gaining confidence. During the sing-a-long, a young man in high school played his guitar reaching our nonverbal participants in ways I had never seen before. A parent of one of the participants cried seeing the sweet connection between everyone there.   An unforgettable moment was when we had one little guy take his very first steps toward independence. What a powerfully moving morning.”  

Additionally, we received a note from Evy, one of the Asbury youth group members reflecting on her experience.

“GiGi’s Playhouse – By Evelyn R. (age 11)

GiGi’s Playhouse participants love singing along while Tom leads with his guitar .

I had the best time at GiGi’s playhouse.  I was there with my church group, but they are better classified as my friends.  At the end of the trip, we had nothing but smiles.  It was such a great experience! At first, when we were waiting in the hallway before going in, I pondered the thought that maybe the kids won’t be like me or just won’t like me.  These thoughts bugged me while I walked into the cute, quaint and welcoming room. Sometime later I struck a conversation with a young girl.  She was beautiful and brilliant.  We were working on ten puzzles at once one minute, and then playing 6 instruments the next minute.  I was actually having a lot of fun!  These kids were talented and sweet.  I loved how open, accepting, and considerate they were to others. At the end of the trip, we all listened and sang along to some guitar songs.  The music was great.  It was something we could relate to and all in all just have fun.  Some kids danced, some played instruments and some sang.  It was awesome!  I had learned that the kids enjoyed a lot of the same things, laughed at the same things, and had lots in common with us.  We all had fun and were friends by the end.  That’s one experience I won’t forget! “ 

Danny checks out Tom’s guitar strings!

We want to remind Annapolis of the good people in our community. The tragedy was the result of one person, but we see so very many, many kindhearted, generous people every single day in our Playhouse right down the road. We hope by sharing this, it will contribute to the healing process of our friends at the Capital, and all in our greater community.

Asbury Church Impact volunteers play with GiGi’s Playhouse friends!

Special thank you to Ashley Cox and her Impact Team for volunteering and organizing this special event at GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis and sharing the love.