Fighting the Good Fight | A Note from Nancy
Success does not happen overnight, we make it happen. Back when GiGi began high school, I was excited, petrified and proud. Her schedule included Biology, Global Studies, TV production, Math concepts and Expanded Literacy, I knew she could do it because we prepared... but that's not how we started. I...
July 2022 Newsletter
Hello to the Amazing GiGi’s Playhouse Community! GiGi, Franco and I recently returned from an impromptu trip to our New York City Playhouse where we met with dignitaries from the country of Qatar. They wanted to learn more about our methodologies, model and our global message of acceptance for all....
GiGiFIT builds confidence & mobility in various stages of life
A step is all it takes to move forward, to feel free. That step, although it seems small, holds tremendous power, allowing individuals to pave their own paths and make their way around the world. Steps, however, do not come naturally for people with Down syndrome. In fact, according to...
The Annual NDSC Conference: It’s A Family Affair
New Orleans is a city traditionally known for celebrations and, in the years following Hurricane Katrina, gained a reputation of strength and determination through tremendous challenges. After a two-year in-person hiatus, it was only fitting that New Orleans served as the in-person home of the 2022 National Down Syndrome Congress...
Companies Support GiGi’s After Witnessing Passion for Mission
Pride and a sense of belonging are what encouraged Comprehensive Marketing Incorporated and Industrial Source Incorporated to become GiGi’s Playhouse partners in 2011 and 2013, respectively. In 2011 GiGi’s had nine Playhouses and 16 in 2013. Through board involvement, event sponsorship, promoting #GenerationG, volunteering, and so much more, Comprehensive Marketing...
GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge Brings in $1.6 million and Massive Awareness
The good news is that it is still not too late to join us! With just several in-person GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge events to still occur this year, we are happy to announce it will be our most successful Acceptance Challenge yet! Across the network we raised $1.6 million… and counting!...
A Message From Our Founder On Meeting With Qatari Leaders
To The GiGi's Playhouse Community, Dignitaries from the Middle Eastern country of Qatar recently inquired about visiting GiGi’s Playhouse to learn about our methodologies, model, and global message of acceptance for all. Those Qatari leaders mentioned that the United Nations and the Embassy in Washington, D.C., spoke highly of GiGi’s,...
Thank you to Accurate
We have all heard the phrase, “a match made in heaven,” but when it comes to describing the partnership between GiGi’s Playhouse and Accurate Personnel, the phrase could not be more, well, accurate. Chief Executive Officer Jaimie Rios’ daughter, Olivia, was born in 2011 with Down syndrome. Jaimie picked up...
Perspective of GiGi’s Playhouse Changes for Volunteer Turned Board Member Who Loses Eyesight
It started with a message. One that really caught the attention of Chief Belief Officer, Nancy Gianni. Enough so that Nancy shared it with a small group of story gatherers at GiGi’s Playhouse headquarters. It is not often that people start volunteering that they find themselves experiencing some of the...
The 2022 GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge was a HUGE success!
Delany Hug running the Dash for Down syndrome The national campaign wrapped up Sunday, with a 5K Fun Run, One Mile Inspirational Walk, and a kids Dash for Down Syndrome, in Hoffman Estates. More than 40 in-person GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge events were held across the country,...
GiGi’s Training Website, a Groundbreaking Virtual Learning Management System
For just over a year now, staff and volunteers across all Playhouse locations, both on-site and virtual, have been successfully using the GiGi’s Training Website. This innovative leap forward has become an integral key to the future of educating successful, confident individuals with Down syndrome by allowing coordinators, volunteers, board...
Parent Profile: Amelia Ramirez on Motherhood and the Blessings of Down Syndrome
Motherhood speaks to the core of what it means to be alive. Just spending three minutes alone with a toddler, can cause a mother to experience a complete range of human emotions including happiness, love, fear, stress, anxiety, sadness, wonder, and utter panic! We interviewed GiGi’s Playhouse mom, Amelia Ramirez,...