{"id":20557,"date":"2020-11-30T14:37:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-30T19:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/?p=20557"},"modified":"2020-11-30T14:41:17","modified_gmt":"2020-11-30T19:41:17","slug":"gigis-has-been-a-lifeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/2020\/11\/30\/gigis-has-been-a-lifeline\/","title":{"rendered":"GiGi’s Has Been A Lifeline!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Your Support Matters<\/span><\/h2>\n

This year is the most challenging and difficult time we have ever experienced since we opened our doors in 2018. We had to reinvent the way we reach our participants and their families while keeping health and safety protocols at the forefront of our decisions. 2020 has been filled with incredible uncertainty yet, GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Annapolis and our National office have managed to find innovative ways to stay connected and engaged. Within ten days of our Playhouse closure due to COVID, the National office launched GiGi\u2019s At Home and GiGi\u2019s Live. These platforms allowed us to stay connected and provide necessary services until we were able to safely reopen after six months of being forced to close because of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

When we made the difficult decision to suspend in-person programming we had no idea that the pandemic would force us to reimagine the way we deliver our free therapeutic and educational programming. Our Playhouse staff, board members, volunteers and YOU worked diligently to safely reopen the Playhouse following the CDC guidelines and GiGi\u2019s Playhouse National Standards for Reopening.<\/p>\n

WE CANNOT DO ANY OF THIS WITHOUT YOU.<\/span><\/h3>\n

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN BENEFIT FROM YOUR GENEROSITY?<\/span><\/h3>\n

Take the universal tax deduction of up to $300 of your donation to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Annapolis on your 2020 tax return without itemizing.<\/p>\n

Click to Donate Today<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

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We provide safety, comfort, and a loving community with purposeful programs that is designed specifically for individuals with Down syndrome and their families. It is a place where they can be themselves, see their friends, learn the important life skills they need, and get support from other families \u2014 all in one place!<\/p>\n

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Matthew benefits from GiGi’s Annapolis virtual Amina Grace Speech & Language Program.<\/p><\/div>\n

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MATTHEW\u2019S STORY:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Matthew recently enrolled in the Amina Grace Speech and Language Program. GiGi\u2019s At Home has provided Matthew with a safe way to interact and meet new people at the Playhouse.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cToday was our third session and I found tears rolling down my cheeks as Matthew was learning to form stronger sounds and enunciate more clearly. Simple words\u2026but music to my ears. He is engaged and enjoying the learning opportunity. We have been so appreciative of this opportunity. We are seeing Matthew use skills and words he had learned in his speech sessions in his school sessions and with his other communication. The energy, enthusiasm and innovative strategies have been engaging and effective!\u00a0\u00a0 \u201d \u2013 Suzy, Matthew\u2019s Stepmom<\/p>\n

There are so many families like Matthew\u2019s who have been able to access GiGi\u2019s At Home virtual programming in the safety of their own homes. We are proud for what we have accomplished in a short amount of time, but our work is not complete.<\/p>\n

We know that people with Down syndrome have 10 times the risk of death from COVID-19 compared to those without it and we respect all decisions regarding the return of our participants to the Playhouse – which is why we offer both virtual and limited in-person programming.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, most of our fundraising is generated from event revenue to support our free programming. However, we we have seen a 40% reduction in overall fundraising revenue this year, due to COVID-19 and cancelling our two major in-person events. We need your help today to balance our GiGi\u2019s At Home and limited in-person programming we offer. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Annapolis is the only Down syndrome achievement center in Maryland, and we are uniquely positioned to serve those living with Down syndrome.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

This virtual world is here to stay and GiGi\u2019s now needs a plan to run virtual and in-person programs concurrently. To do that, we need to recruit and train more math and literacy tutors for one-on-one virtual sessions, to upgrade the technology to survive for the long term, and maintain the additional staff and volunteers needed to run our important programs virtually and in-person.<\/p>\n

2020 has been filled with such uncertainty \u2013 WILL YOU REMAIN COMMITTED TO OUR FRIENDS AND FAMILIES BY MAKING A DONATION TODAY?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Please help us continue to provide programming to people like Matthew who rely on us to always be there\u2014 however that may be, and in any way that it could change once again in this virtual world that has quickly become our new reality.<\/p>\n

Thank you for always believing in GiGi\u2019s!<\/p>\n

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Click to Donate Today<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/h2>\n

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Warmest Regards,<\/p>\n

Mary Kenion
\nFundraising Chair
\nGiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis<\/p>\n

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      Your Support Matters This year is the most challenging and difficult time we have ever experienced since we opened our doors in 2018. We had to reinvent the way we reach our participants and their families while keeping health and safety protocols at the forefront of our decisions. 2020 has been filled…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":20558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[42,1842],"class_list":["post-20557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awareness","tag-givingtuesday","tag-support"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/annapolis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}