Posts by mvance
Best of All: Speech Participants!
There have been so many Best of All moments to come out of our Amina Grace Speech and Language Program this year, that we couldn’t help but to highlight so many of the accomplishments our friends are making! Read below for some Best of All moments shared by our SLP students this spring. Adilene: Adilene…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Gwyn
Name: Gwyn Blythe Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am a freshman at Jackson High School. I am in a program my school offers called JAGS which stands for Jackson Academy for Global Studies. I have 2 siblings Graham (7th) and Blaire (11th). I have also lived in Ohio all of my life.…
Read MoreNew Family Alert! Welcome!!
Help us welcome one of our newest additions to the GiGi’s Playhouse Canton family – participant Zoë (5), her parents Steven and Aidelni, and her sisters Stephanie and Natalia! Zoë’s parents shared they previously lived in Arizona and occasionally participated in our free, purposeful programming at GiGis Playhouse Phoenix, but it was still a 45…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Spring SLP Team!
These speech teams have been such a treat to work with! In September of 2022, we launched the Amina Grace Speech and Language program at our GiGi’s Playhouse Canton location. This one-on-one program provides youth, teens and adults with greatly expanded opportunities to evolve and refine their speech and language skills. So far, we have…
Read MoreBest of All: Hadlie
Hadlie is 3 years old and is a newer Playhouse participant who began speech therapy in the Amina Grace Speech and Language program with us this spring. Hadlie comes prepared each week with her backpack and loves coming to “school” at GiGi’s and meeting with her “teacher” Ms. Lauren! We first met Hadlie at our…
Read MoreInclusion Matters
Let’s talk about dance competitions. I never knew what all this entailed until we entered the dance competition world 4 years ago. But it is exactly that – a competition; individuals and teams being scored by judges to try and score the highest. Where does a little girl that happens to have Down syndrome fit…
Read MoreBest of All: Alaina
best of all (noun) \best of all\ is continual, measurable, celebrated and it never ends. It is a daily challenge to do a little better than you did the day before and it’s always celebrated. Possible manifestations: standing just one second longer, reading just one more word, learning just one new number, taking just one…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Amy
Name: Amy Zavarelli Tell us a little bit about yourself. I have been a School Counselor for 17 years. I live in North Canton with my husband; Together we have 3 boys and 3 dogs!! In my spare time, I love to watch sports and spend time with friends. We want to get to know…
Read MoreBest of All: Tasho
Tasho’s back with another Best of All moment! We are very proud of Tasho for reading not only one book during his literacy tutoring session last week…but FOUR books! With the help from his tutor Kevin and our new Osmo, Tasho really did his #BestOfAll. Tasho was very attentive the entire tutoring session and really…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Kevin
Name: Kevin Jordan Tell us a little bit about yourself. I am 39 years old and I am in a wheelchair. I was born with a birth defect called spina bifida. We want to get to know you! What are some of your favorites? (food, color, season, activity, restaurant, place to shop, etc.)…
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