You Are Exactly Where You Are Meant To Be *2019 Recap*

When you first walk into the playhouse you are greeted with a beautiful mural sharing words of encouragement, empowerment, and hope. In the center of the mural is the quote “you are exactly where you are meant to be.” After two years of hard work and dedication, raising the funds and support to open a playhouse we officially held our first program, LMNOP (Language, Music, N’, Our Peeps) on January 25th. The space that we had dreamed of was now a reality, and we welcomed families with open arms.

In just one year we met and provided free programming to a pregnant mom with a prenatal diagnosis, proud parents and their ten day old baby, a mom and her adult son desperately looking for a place for him to go after high school ended, local peers of all ages wanting to volunteer and connect, and more. Our playhouse has seen incredible #bestofall moments like a participant blowing bubbles for the first time, a child learning how to read, and a ten year old volunteer choosing to ask for donations on their birthday instead of toys. The life-changing moments never stop at GiGi’s Playhouse Deerfield and they never cease to amaze those of us lucky enough to be a part of them.

To anyone who has donated, volunteered at, participated in a program, or even liked a post on our Facebook page or Instagram, we thank you. None of this would be possible without community support. It is because of people like you that we can continue to offer these programs FREE to the families we love.

• Over 2200 HOURS of FREE therapeutic and educational programming given to individuals with Down syndrome
• More than 1100 volunteer hours
• 20 presentations at schools and community centers teaching about Down syndrome and #GenerationG
• 140 families served and growing!
• Only 5% in general and administrative costs
• 12 different purposeful and progressive programs on our calendar with NEW PROGRAMS starting in January!

It has been a great year but there is still so much to do! We can’t wait to kick off our GiGiFIT programs early next year and will continue to need your support as we grow our network and our programming. Happy 2019 and cheers to an even bigger, better 2020!