{"id":141962,"date":"2025-07-09T11:06:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/?p=141962"},"modified":"2025-07-09T11:06:42","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T15:06:42","slug":"sweet-treats-and-big-hearts-celebrating-elles-sweet-shop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/uncategorized\/sweet-treats-and-big-hearts-celebrating-elles-sweet-shop","title":{"rendered":"Sweet Treats and Big Hearts: Celebrating Elle’s Sweet Shop"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At just 7 years old, Elle is already making a big impact in her community and at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Atlanta!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 26, Elle set up Elle\u2019s Sweet Shop<\/em> at the corner near her school, welcoming friends, neighbors, and passersby with cookies, Rice Krispie treats, lemonade, water, bracelets, and lots of smiles. With music playing and a speaker ready for song requests, Elle turned a simple stand into a joyful summer celebration of sweetness and generosity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elle originally created her shop to raise funds for her summer camp, but her efforts were so successful that she ended the day with a $100 surplus. And what did Elle choose to do with that extra money? She donated it to GiGi\u2019s Playhouse in honor of her little brother, Paul. In a heartfelt \u201cthank you\u201d video shared on her dad\u2019s Instagram, Elle explained, \u201cPaul has Down syndrome and they do it [programs and services] for free.\u201d Her words\u2014and her gift\u2014touched all of us deeply.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Elle presents her donation to Howie<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Paul and his family have been a part of the GiGi\u2019s community for the past year and a half. Each week, Paul and his siblings participate together in our Music Therapy<\/em> and Leaps & Bounds<\/em>, a preschool readiness program. These programs have helped Paul grow by leaps and bounds! He\u2019s made incredible progress in our Amina Grace speech therapy program and has even weaned off of tube feeding, a huge milestone for him and his family. Watching Paul thrive with the support of GiGi\u2019s and his family is what makes our mission so meaningful.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Paul and all three of his siblings enjoy Mini Melodies music therapy each Tuesday morning at the Playhouse!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We are beyond grateful to kids like Elle who, even at such a young age, truly understand the value of giving back and the importance of inclusion. Elle\u2019s Sweet Shop wasn\u2019t just about treats\u2014it was about love, family, and the power of community. At GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, all of our programs are completely free for families like Elle and Paul\u2019s\u2014but they aren\u2019t free to provide. It\u2019s through the kindness and generosity of people like Elle\u2014and you\u2014that we are able to continue offering life-changing programs for individuals with Down syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a 7-year-old can make this kind of impact, imagine what we can do together. Please consider making a donation today in honor of Elle, Paul, and every family who walks through our doors. Your support helps us continue to grow, celebrate, and empower our amazing community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Donate Here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Thank you, Elle, for being a shining example of compassion and generosity. Paul is lucky to have a sister like you, and we are lucky to have you as part of our GiGi\u2019s Playhouse family!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Elle playing Peek-a-Boo with Paul on one of their first visits to the Playhouse<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At just 7 years old, Elle is already making a big impact in her community and at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Atlanta! On June 26, Elle set up Elle\u2019s Sweet Shop at the corner near her school, welcoming friends, neighbors, and passersby with cookies, Rice Krispie treats, lemonade, water, bracelets, and lots of smiles. With music playing…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1619,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1619"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141962\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/atlanta\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}