Happy New Year, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago!

Written by: Warner Hellyer, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago Marketing Committee Member 

We are so excited for this New Year and all that it will bring for our Playhouse. At this year’s Board Retreat, our Board of Managers and Staff had the opportunity to sit down, think critically and dream up audacious goals for this community. This year, GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago will:

• Continue to support our Chicago community by offering free purposeful and progressive programming for individuals with Down syndrome virtually and eventually in-person once our Playhouse re-opens.
• Broaden our fundraising efforts by offering new and exciting fundraising events with the support from a brand new Fundraising Committee.
• Grow our Playhouse committees with the help from our dedicated volunteers, families and individuals with Down syndrome.

2020 showed us a lot of different things. One of which was the virtual world and how to stay connected. However, even still, this could not have been possible without the funding and generous donations from so many of you. With that, we wanted to highlight just a few types of donations that have benefited the community and programs we get to offer:

Your gift of $21 helps provide materials to welcome new families into GiGi’s Playhouse making sure they know that they are never alone.

Your gift of $100 helps purchase the supplies needed for one student to attend a 10-week session of Literacy or Math Tutoring.

Your gift of $500 helps support 2 adults in our E.P.I.C. career development program for a year!

These are only a few ways donating has supported the Playhouse, and a little has gone a long way. To learn more about where your donations go, and where to donate, please check out this page on our website!

Looking ahead into 2021, we are still adhering to safety measures and protocols set by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago. Please stay tuned for our potential Playhouse re-opening in the near future.

We are also looking for leadership growth on our Playhouse committees. Current committee roles we are looking for fill are:

• Education Program Committee Member
• IT/Tech Committee Member
• Finance Committee Member
• Young Professionals Board/Committee Members

We are in need of individuals who are looking to donate their time and energy to support our mission of changing the way the world views Down syndrome and sending a global message of acceptance for all!  Interested in joining? Please contact our Board President Evguenia Popova at epopova@gigisplayhouse.org

We are very excited for what’s to come in 2021 and are incredibly grateful for the continued support to our Playhouse. We could not continue our mission without the support from our dedicated volunteers, families, donors, and our community.

Thank you!