Conner’s Story

We have a little boy, his name is Conner and he was born March 15^th, 2019. We had a birth diagnosis which sent us into a million directions, both mentally and emotionally. We were fortunate enough to meet Jill Rabin at the hospital. She was just so excited. If any of you have met her you can understand her excitement. She sent us to GiGi’s, literally we were brand new parents to a ten-day old baby. She was telling us that Shannon would be expecting us within the hour. So, we got in the car and were like, ok, we’re going to GiGi’s. That push was everything that we didn’t know we needed. Meeting Shannon was a magical event. Hearing her passion for GiGi’s and all it had to offer. We knew we had something wonderful. We left with excitement and Nick said to me, yeah, we will be coming here forever. The playhouse is filled with the most loving and supportive people you have ever met. A place where you can go and know everyone just gets it. A place of rejuvenation and inspiration. A place for connection, just like tonight. Everyone works for the betterment of these kids and GiGi’s is just simply the best. We have only been a part of this family for ten months but already Conner has a group of friends to learn and grow with. Friends like Dominic, Laney, Finn, Max, Ellis, Hudson, Vivian, Gabi, Aaron, Thomas, Evan, Cassius and so many more to come. They all play together every week at LMNOP and as parents we look forward to seeing what they’ve learned and how big they’re getting. Conner has a network of love and support forever that he will be able to rely on. We as parents also have a network of support that we can rely on forever and it’s incredibly humbling. We take advantage of every opportunity GiGi’s has to offer and all of you are here for that. Events like this raise money to give these kids a head start and the skills to change the way the world views Down syndrome. I’m excited for the opportunities available to us and what the future playhouse can provide families like ours. First we were blessed by god for Conner, and second we were blessed by God for GiGi’s Playhouse. With all the love in our hearts, we thank you for being here.

~ Alyse, Conner’s Mom

If you are interested in supporting programming for families like Conner’s, click HERE to donate.

To watch Alyse’s speech in full click HERE!