Hugs + Mugs
Down Syndrome in a COVID-19 World
Don’t high-five, don’t shake hands, don’t touch anything. Don’t travel, don’t leave the house unless you have to, and definitely don’t hug. We have all been bombarded with a list of do’s and don’ts during the COVID-19 pandemic. So it’s fairly common knowledge what we should and shouldn’t be doing to avoid catching or spreading…
Read MoreThoughtful | GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Centers
on the sidewalks of new york Valentine’s Day is now past but the warmth of someone caring continues. We remember the sentiment, “How thoughtful!” Thoughtfulness can be spontaneous or the result of deliberate internal debate. It’s a first step in an act of kindness or generosity. And sometimes it occurs in the strangest of ways,…
Read MoreGiGi’s : Stronger Together
30 GiGi’s Playhouses from around the country and in Mexico participated in our 6th Annual GiGi’s Board Conference at the Schaumburg Convention Center. It was 3 days of inspiration, education, networking and fun! The conference ended with a banquet where our adult interns with Down syndrome, who run our Hugs + Mugs store, inspired the crowd. At…
Read MoreHere’s a sneak peak……
Hugs+Mugs has been busy preparing for Gigi Fest – All of our mentors and interns have been spending their time making and packaging our V-21 Cookies and testing our G-21 Gluten free version – working hard to guarantee a Gigi Fest debut. But whats really been keeping us busy are our brand new items. …
Read MoreGiGi U : confident u – healthy u – whole u
Last week saw the graduation of the 3rd class of GiGi University. Congratulations Class Summer 2014! These students spent the last 10 weeks learning the pillars of GiGi U’s: HEALTHY U, CONFIDENT U & WHOLE U. The GiGi U graduates are proud of who they are, learned the importance of self-care & nutrition, became self-advocates…
Read MoreOur Staff keeps growing…..
We had quite a week at the Playhouse and Hugs+Mugs. The third class of GiGi U graduated Thursday evening. Hugs+Mugs mentors, Tim, Nicole, Kiera, Patrick, Brian and Christine, were on hand to show their support for the graduating class. Our Mentors remember how nervous they were when they were standing on the same stage just…
Read MorePaying it Forward –
GiGi University student Aubrey and Hugs + Mugs intern Brian accepted the Ice Bucket Challenge. Joined by GiGi’s team members Sarah Rickaby and Jayne Drew, the foursome were caught on video paying it forward. The participants not only challenged some of their friends, but also two of GiGi’s other 16 playhouse Locations. Will GiGi’s Playhouse…
Read MoreBelieving they CAN!!
I’d like to introduce you to a few of our interns at Hugs + Mugs, Matt, Chris, Patrick and Nicole. Nicole is a mentor and from the 1st class of GiGi U and the boys are all interns from the 2nd class, they graduated in May. They were so very busy this week getting everything…
Read MoreBe Inspired by Danny Bottcher…..
We are surrounded by amazing families that have inspired us. We’ve had 2 families show their support for GiGi’s Playhouse and Hugs + Mugs by hosting Lemonade Stands and 1 family created friendship bracelets they sold to raise money for GiGi’s. When I asked why they decided to host a lemonade stand, they explained that…
Read MoreMeet our future intern – Aubrey
This week we have our first guest Blogger – Aubrey S. Aubrey is currently a student at GiGi U. She is very anxious to graduate in a few weeks and join our crew at Hugs + Mugs as an Intern. Here’s what Aubrey had to say about GiGi U and Hugs + Mugs –…
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