GiGi’s Love Beyond State Lines

On a recent family vacation, the Woodard family shared a pleasant surprise when they met a volunteer from GiGi’s Playhouse Raleigh! Yesterday we took the ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport, NC. There is very little in this town but one of the locals suggested “Provision Company.” It is a cute little restaurant with great…

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Best of All: Mallory

Our GiGi’s Kitchen program leader shared Mallory did an amazing job being independent at GiGi’s Kitchen Kids recently! We made butterfly bags to practice portion control and healthy food choices. Gwyn shared, “She was amazing at being able to separate her snack and put the clothes pin on the snack to look exactly like the…

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New 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…

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Couch to 5k

It’s time to lace up your sneakers and get moving for the GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge on Saturday, May 21st! We wanted to provide tips, recommendations, and motivation from Northwestern University Recreation to help you prepare for this year’s 5K. What is a Couch to 5K? A Couch to 5K is a training program designed to help prepare beginners…

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Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and WDSD

March is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month AND we’re celebrating World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD) on 3.21! We’ve compiled a list of some books that are great options to send to your child’s school about inclusion and acceptance: “You Matter” – Christian Robinson “Dreamers” – Yuyi Morales “Happy Right Now” – Julie Berry & Holly Hatam…

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Dear Medical Professionals

Young girl with Down syndrome in a blue dress wearing a hat and sunglasses

In my opinion, I was lucky that we had a birth diagnosis. If you ask Tim he would disagree – he would have rather known ahead of time. But in a Facebook group, I just read about a parent pregnant and not enjoying her pregnancy because of the repeated urging of doctors to not have…

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Defining Down Syndrome

Black and white photo of a young girl with Down syndrome

“Down Syndrome – It means different things to different people.  For me,  the meaning has evolved over the years as we’ve journeyed through life with Maylee,  my 12-year-old daughter. When Maylee was born,  Down syndrome was a “Curve Ball”.  We didn’t learn that Maylee had Down syndrome until the day she was born.  I remember…

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Congratulations, Joe and the Class of 2021!

Graduate with Down syndrome wearing a blue graduation cap and smiling

As the 2021-2022 school year starts, we want to take a moment to recognize our recent graduates and #inspire students to achieve their #BestOfAll this year. We are so proud of our friend Joe and other Class of 2021 graduates! Joe was able to benefit from GiGi’s At Home virtual literacy and math tutoring this…

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