Family Story
A drive for volunteering #wishesdelivered
A Drive for Volunteering To her customers, Shelly Perez-Dickson is the face of UPS. But to the kids at GiGi’s Playhouse, a Down syndrome achievement center in Des Moines, Iowa, she is a beloved teacher and a close friend. For several years, Shelly has volunteered at GiGi’s mentoring children with Down syndrome and fostering life-defining…
Read MoreAnd the Winner is….
We had a great turn out of local artists for our ‘Be A Star’ 5k & Inspirational Walk Coloring Contest held this summer! Thank you to all who participated and allowed us to display your artwork at GiGi’s Playhouse! And now it is time to announce our WINNERS! In the age category of 0-8 year…
Read MoreA Daily Stand for Global Acceptance
Friends: today we come to you with troubling news – news that demonstrates why GiGi’s Playhouse fights so hard every day for Global Acceptance. We BELIEVE that people of all abilities should be treated with dignity. Not everyone does. We believe people of all abilities should be included. Not everyone does. We believe people of…
Read MoreOne of our AWESOME Kid’s Club Program Hosts and mother of Max & Mitchell shared this story with us! “I want to share that we had another great evening on Saturday of Kid’s Club! Max looks forward to Kid’s Club and talks about it the entire week before. It is so awesome to have him naming…
Read MoreFriday Friends Firsts!
This past Friday evening was full of firsts here at GiGi’s! We had several 1st Time Volunteers for Friday Friends, we had a 1st Time Activity of planting Flowers, and we had a 1st Time Family attend! From one of our first time at Friday Friends families who have volunteered said, “My first initial impression…
Read More2015 ‘i have a voice’ Gala photo gallery
GiGi’s Playhouse expands offerings with new facility
This article ran in the Des Moines Register on 2.22.15 Written by:Estela Villanueva-Whitman, Special to the Register GiGi’s Playhouse came to Des Moines with the goal of raising awareness about Down syndrome. Five years later, it has a new playhouse in Windsor Heights and plans to provide additional programming for more age groups. During the week, adults…
Read MoreCallen’s Super Buddy
In all of his four years, Callen has never met a stranger. He greets everyone he passes with an enthusiastic “Hi!” He gets handed from adult to adult in pretty much every social situation he’s in. He high fives kids at the baseball fields and playgrounds. It is truly amazing how this tiny little kid…
Read MoreCarsten’s Super Buddy
Meet Carsten. Who knew that eight years ago one little person could make such a difference in a family and community’s life. And even though the blue eyes, requests for cookies, or Scooby Doo might grab your attention – if you take the time to get to know Carsten you’ll understand just a little of…
Read MoreThank You to our Volunteers
Des Moines volunteers make a difference every day at GiGi’s Playhouse. GiGi’s Playhouse recently honored its volunteers with a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner hosted by its Board of Directors at Mama LaCona’s Restaurant. In 2013, GiGi’s Playhouse Des Moines is thankful to have received over 1,467 hours of volunteer service from Volunteers at GiGi’s…
Read More