Emily’s Dream: One-Stop Shop for Down Syndrome 

Emily Mondschein’s dream of a one-stop shop for Down syndrome, GiGi’s Playhouse Buffalo, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month. 

“Five years ago, I wanted to start a grass roots organization dedicated to Down syndrome, because there was nothing locally,” Emily stated in an interview on August 19th.  “I was intrigued by GiGi’s Playhouse.  So. Will, my husband, and I called them and asked a lot of questions.  We did a telephone interview.  We also visited a GiGi’s Playhouse in Syracuse.  Seeing this facility, we thought we were in over our heads.” 

“But our pastor, Rev. Hall from Clarence First Presbyterian Church, asked if we were going to do it.  He helped us make the decision, and to this day, Clarence First Presbyterian Church is still one of our sponsors. 

“A start-up team was established.  The team was my husband, Will, who is a good writer and Heather,  

an English professor from Fredonia and me. 

“We had three to four phases for the start-up.  The first phase was the fund raising with a later phase being the facility.”   We received a grant of over $119,000 from the Tower Foundation. 

“In phase three, the start-up team became the board and a sight manager.  This was the beginning.” 

“When we first started, only two out of ten people have heard of GiGi’s Playhouse.  Now seven or eight people out of ten will say they have heard of GiGi’s Playhouse.  We are still trying to get the word out by making connections through outreach.  It’s difficult.” 

GiGi’s Playhouse Buffalo offers FREE therapeutic, educational and research-driven programs to individuals of all ages with Down syndrome. 

Our Mission is to increase positive awareness of Down syndrome through, educational programs and by empowering individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community. 

“We help people, for instance, navigate through the school districts and at hospitals.” 

Our Vision is to see a world where individuals with Down syndrome are accepted and embraced in their families, schools, and communities. 

We are still working toward Our Vision with our one-stop shop for Down syndrome.