{"id":141631,"date":"2024-01-09T15:53:17","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T21:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/?p=141631"},"modified":"2024-01-09T15:53:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T21:53:17","slug":"my-journey-to-gigis-playhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/2024\/01\/09\/my-journey-to-gigis-playhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"My Journey to GiGi’s Playhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Serving others has always been a passion of mine. I think that\u2019s how I ended up in the field of Early Childhood Special Education, and most recently, GiGi\u2019s Playhouse. I remember vividly riding my bike at age 10 to a non-profit in my small town that supported childhood cancer. I would tirelessly make copies and stuff envelopes with my best friend Kate. Through my teenage years, I was involved in the Special Olympics as an \u201cofficial finish line hugger\u201d and volunteered on an allocations committee for the United Way as I continued to develop my passion for serving those around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2019 to 2022, our family of five took a big adventure and moved to France. I suddenly had a lot more time on my hands, as I wasn\u2019t teaching kindergarten and all of my kids were in school. I \u201ctried\u201d to get involved with local volunteer organizations in Paris, but unfortunately, my French was \u201ctr\u00e8s mauvais\u201d or really, really bad. In fact, at one shelter, a very sweet woman offered to teach me French, and I quickly realized that I wasn\u2019t extremely helpful to anyone if I couldn\u2019t speak the language well. So I turned my focus to my other passion… baking. That story is for another day, but I could talk about recipes all day long, and I love to read a cookbook like a novel. Fun fact: My famous sticky bun rolls were a hot seller amongst my Parisian friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After we moved back from Paris in Fall 2022, I took a part-time position as a Teacher\u2019s Assistant in Lake Forest Schools. I had the privilege of being a 1-1 assistant for a 4th Grader with Down syndrome. Every day of work was more fun with her in it! We crushed her math goals and worked on those super important life skills like advocating for her needs and spelling her last name correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around the same time, as life became calmer and my family settled back into our American routine, I had the desire to get more involved locally. I googled \u201cNon-profit near me\u201d late one night, and GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Deerfield popped up in the search results. Upon a quick read of the website and the mission of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, as well the connection to my new favorite student, I knew this was the place for me to offer my time and talents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I met Shannon in early January 2023, and somehow, she convinced me (quite easily!) to run the GiGi\u2019s Cooking Club. I hopped right in and haven\u2019t looked back! Once a month, I cook with a kid\u2019s group and a teen group. We practice language skills, review proper hygiene and kitchen safety, as well as nutrition. We usually whip up a tasty and nutritious treat (don\u2019t ask the kids about the cauliflower rice smoothie!) and always have a great time! It\u2019s an honor to support free programming and provide opportunities for growth, learning, and meaningful connections to our participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April, I found out Shannon was looking for a part-time sidekick, or maybe \u201csuperhero\u201d would be the better word. Fast forward to today, where I have been serving as the Program and Volunteer Coordinator for the past 4 months. I officially joined the GiGi\u2019s Playhouse family at the end of August, just in time to prepare for the Gala, Bushel of Apples Fall Fest, and Jack O\u2019 Lantern World, while keeping our programs running with fidelity and making sure we have volunteers to fill all of our roles!  It was a wild few first months, but I am always happy to support the Playhouse.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been an absolute joy to be a part of GiGi\u2019s! From supporting Shannon in the everyday functions of running an amazing Playhouse to meeting and getting to know all of our participants and families. I believe in the mission of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, and I believe in our families. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here and why I\u2019ll continue to work hard in my role. As I look forward to the upcoming year, I\u2019m excited to be a part of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse Deerfield. I believe in our build and can\u2019t wait to see our new, larger, purposeful space filled with participants and families enjoying our free, life-changing programs. I can\u2019t wait to witness the impact of our programs and see our Playhouse grow and flourish in 2024! If we haven\u2019t crossed paths yet, please stop by the Playhouse or send me a note at cbouy@gigisplayhouse.org<\/a>. as it\u2019s always a joy to make a new friend!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~Cassie Bouy – Program and Volunteer Coordinator <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Serving others has always been a passion of mine. I think that\u2019s how I ended up in the field of Early Childhood Special Education, and most recently, GiGi\u2019s Playhouse. I remember vividly riding my bike at age 10 to a non-profit in my small town that supported childhood cancer. I would tirelessly make copies and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[466,468],"class_list":["post-141631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-volunteer","tag-volunteering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141631\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/deerfield\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}