{"id":141952,"date":"2025-02-05T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/?p=141952"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:33:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T14:33:05","slug":"volunteer-spotlight-heather-shaffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/2025\/02\/05\/volunteer-spotlight-heather-shaffer\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Spotlight: Heather Shaffer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Canton, we are incredibly fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who go above and beyond to support our mission. This month, we are excited to spotlight Heather Shaffer, a passionate educator, loving mother, and invaluable member of the planning committee for our annual <a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/a-night-out\/\">A Night for GiGi\u2019s<\/a> fundraiser.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-141957\" style=\"width:374px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/files\/2025\/02\/Heather-and-family.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Meet Heather!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather and her husband, Mike, have been married for nearly 13 years and are proud parents to their two active children, Emma (11) and Micah (9). Both kids are busy with basketball, and Micah also plays baseball and football. The Shaffer family thrives on their jam-packed schedule, balancing practices, games, and tournaments. In their downtime, they love playing games at home, watching Marvel movies, and taking road trips to visit family in Knoxville or explore Disney and Universal Studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather\u2019s professional life is equally inspiring. She has been teaching first grade at Sauder Elementary in Jackson Township for 17 years. Watching the remarkable growth her students make each year is one of her greatest joys. Beyond academics, Heather is passionate about helping children develop independence, compassion, and everyday problem-solving skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of Heather\u2019s favorite aspects of her role at Sauder is the opportunity to work alongside the cross-categorical special education class, Bear Paws. She treasures the time spent learning and growing together with these students and families while also building genuine relationships with other staff at Sauder!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fun Facts About Heather:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Favorite Foods:<\/strong> Breakfast foods (especially from Table 6, 91, and Samantha\u2019s)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Favorite Color:<\/strong> Blue<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Favorite Season:<\/strong> \u201cI love that we get to experience all four seasons in Ohio! There is something to appreciate about each of them!\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Favorite Activities:<\/strong> Fast-paced card games and Dr. Mario (watch out \u2014 she\u2019s tough to beat!)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Favorite Animal:<\/strong> Sloths<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heather\u2019s GiGi\u2019s Journey<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather first attended A Night for GiGi\u2019s seven years ago and immediately fell in love with the event. &#8220;It quickly became my favorite event of the year!&#8221; she shared. Heartwarming, entertaining, and full of joy, the evening left a lasting impression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Heather was invited to join the planning committee, she was honored to accept. Now in her second year as a committee member, Heather continues to be amazed by what the group accomplishes together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking Ahead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Heather\u2019s current involvement focuses on the annual fundraiser, she looks forward to having the time to volunteer directly with participants at the Playhouse. &#8220;I know I would enjoy working with participants in small groups or one-on-one and seeing some of my friends from Sauder too!&#8221; she said enthusiastically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of her favorite experiences at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse has been seeing students outside of the classroom setting. &#8220;It\u2019s always fun to see their personalities shine in a different setting with their friends and families.&#8221; Heather also loved bringing her own children to the Playhouse and hopes they will join her in volunteering someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thank You, Heather!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Heather\u2019s enthusiasm, heart for inclusion, and dedication to making A Night for GiGi\u2019s a success embody the spirit of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse. We are so grateful for her continued support and can&#8217;t wait to see her family grow alongside our Playhouse community!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-fl-header-bg-color has-fl-topbar-link-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-263d6ac222c32696b3551d535bb50f6f wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Join the Fun and Support GiGi\u2019s Playhouse!<br><\/strong><br><strong>A Night for GiGi\u2019s is right around the corner!<\/strong> Don&#8217;t miss out on this incredible evening filled with inspiration, entertainment, and fun. <br><br>\ud83d\udc49 <strong>Get your tickets now<\/strong> to join us for the event.<br>Can&#8217;t attend in person? You can still be part of the excitement by participating in our <strong>Loaded Yeti or 50\/50 raffles online<\/strong> for a chance to win amazing prizes while supporting our mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-fl-topbar-text-color has-fl-topbar-bg-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color has-medium-font-size wp-elements-26f51b3ba9b2431047c20058988c6407 wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/a-night-out\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\">[<strong>Click here to get your tickets or join the raffles!<\/strong>]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Canton, we are incredibly fortunate to have dedicated volunteers who go above and beyond to support our mission. This month, we are excited to spotlight Heather Shaffer, a passionate educator, loving mother, and invaluable member of the planning committee for our annual A Night for GiGi\u2019s fundraiser. Meet Heather! Heather and her&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1472,"featured_media":141957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[550],"tags":[390,341,10,7,304,303,182],"class_list":["post-141952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-volunteer-spotlight","tag-acceptance","tag-appreciation","tag-down-syndrome","tag-gigis-playhouse","tag-recognition","tag-spotlight","tag-volunteer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1472"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/141957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/canton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}