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Did you know that there are already\u00a0almost\u00a050\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse locations across the country? And right now, when people in Cincinnati want to experience the magic of\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse, they\u00a0have to\u00a0drive two hours to Indianapolis! That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that we bring a\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse to Cincinnati.\u00a0Doing so\u00a0would benefit our community in countless ways.<\/p>\n
What are all the reasons that so many people in Cincinnati are so passionate about opening a local GiGi\u2019s Playhouse location? Here\u2019s what some of our team members had to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cI used to travel one or two times per week to the Indianapolis GiGi\u2019s Playhouse location for their programs. I told my family that we\u2019re either moving to Indiana and becoming Hoosiers or we\u2019re bringing a GiGi\u2019s Playhouse to Cincinnati! And now, here we are. Thanks for helping not only our family but a plethora of other families too!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Kim O\u2019Madden, mom to Elishia<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a busy mom of a busy family. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse gets us and they\u2019re able to help us. They provide so many resources, they give quick responses and they\u2019re always eager to help or connect us with others if they can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Nicole White, mom to Kate<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving a child with Down syndrome\u2014my amazing daughter, Selah\u2014has been by the far the best, and also the hardest, thing I have ever done in my life. Selah was born in New Jersey. I was so scared to have this child with no real understanding of what the future could hold. We had very limited support there. I started looking for resources in New Jersey and found GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, but there were no locations that were very close to me. I could see from the website and pictures that this was a place that my daughter and I could both go to in order to find real acceptance and community. I knew that I was going to live near a GiGi\u2019s Playhouse somehow\u2026 I just didn\u2019t know how! Fast forward two years and my husband got a job in Cincinnati. Happily, I discovered the GiGi\u2019s Playhouse start-up team here in Cincinnati and quickly joined. I drove two hours to visit the GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Indianapolis location and it was just like I thought it would be\u2014an amazing space where Selah can have her own community of people who will celebrate her exactly for who she is. Not only does GiGi\u2019s Playhouse have free programs that are designed especially with Down syndrome in mind, but it also has the sense of caring and community that I want for my whole family. I cannot wait until GiGi\u2019s Playhouse opens in Cincinnati so that all local families can experience for themselves the true greatness of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Christine Veotte, mom to Selah<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my daughter Alice was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, I remember not knowing where to begin. I was so overwhelmed. I wanted to get her every therapy, class or intervention that would help her become a smart, happy, healthy, contributing member of our world. When I found out about GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, I was so excited. Their mission to help people with Down syndrome from birth through adulthood gave me so much hope for Alice. I couldn\u2019t wait to visit\u2014until I found out that the closest location is two hours away! Bringing GiGi\u2019s Playhouse to Cincinnati would mean so much for Alice, our family and our entire community. Anything that can help Alice and other people with Down syndrome in Cincinnati feel loved, cherished, appreciated and empowered is all I can ask for!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 Ann Poirier, mom to Alice<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Kennedy was born, we had almost no resources where we lived. It took a while to connect with our Down syndrome community. Those resources were sparse and inconsistent. Having a place to go to connect immediately and get the support we needed when she was born would have helped in so many ways. I\u2019m upset about every opportunity that\u2019s being missed for Kennedy and other kids with Down syndrome until GiGi\u2019s Playhouse is available in our community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I wrote a list of my top 15 reasons that I want a GiGi\u2019s Playhouse in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
\n
- It\u2019s an amazing national network that supports the local needs of each GiGi\u2019s Playhouse location.<\/li>\n
- My family needs more continuous and purposeful programming where I can see real progress with Kennedy. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse programs are amazing!<\/li>\n
- My entire family and anyone else is welcome and included, including Kennedy\u2019s two siblings.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s a great opportunity for diversity and inclusion. I\u2019ve heard so many stories about volunteers who have been so positively impacted by their roles at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse that they go on to advocate in the community for people with Down syndrome and other disabilities. I\u2019ve also heard so many stories about people with Down syndrome finding meaningful employment through GiGi\u2019s Playhouse.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse programs promote mentoring and friendships with people of all ages.<\/li>\n
- We\u2019ve experienced a large gap in program availability for Kennedy\u2019s age group. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse has support for people of all ages.<\/li>\n
- Our kids with Down syndrome need more consistency and practice. GiGi\u2019s Playhouse has ongoing, long-term consistency in their programs.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse programs are research-based and developed especially for kids with Down syndrome. They\u2019re not handed down from another disability that somewhat overlaps.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse offers a replicable business model\u2014it\u2019s 99% volunteer run with only 5% administrative costs, which means that more money goes directly back to the Down syndrome community.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse leader, Nancy Gianni, is extremely passionate about creating more awareness and acceptance of Down syndrome.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse offers so many opportunities. More opportunities equal more empowerment, as families and people with Down syndrome have more choices.<\/li>\n
- Having a GiGi\u2019s Playhouse in Cincinnati will give a great opportunity for in-person community.<\/li>\n
- GiGi\u2019s Playhouse is 100% free for all families! The ability to pay does not impact the ability to get great resources. No one will ever be in a position to have to ask to waive costs or fill out extra paperwork. No one is ever asked to reveal their financial status.<\/li>\n
- Kennedy and I participated in the one-on-one literacy tutoring at the GiGi\u2019s Playhouse location in Indianapolis. She loved it and made significant progress. She always says, \u2018Go GiGi\u2019s play!\u2019<\/li>\n
- The more I learn about GiGi\u2019s Playhouse and the more I experience it, the more I love it!\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
\u2013 Amy Pennington, mom to Kennedy<\/p>\n
So now that you\u2019ve heard why we can\u2019t wait to bring GiGi\u2019s Playhouse to Cincinnati\u2026 what\u2019s your \u201cwhy\u201d?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Did you know that there are already\u00a0almost\u00a050\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse locations across the country? And right now, when people in Cincinnati want to experience the magic of\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse, they\u00a0have to\u00a0drive two hours to Indianapolis! That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important that we bring a\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0Playhouse to Cincinnati.\u00a0Doing so\u00a0would benefit our community in countless ways. What are all the reasons that so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":17235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17234\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/cincinnati\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}