It’s Down Syndrome Awareness Month!
October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness, promoting acceptance, and celebrating the lives and achievements of individuals with Down syndrome. This month-long observance aims to educate the public, dispel myths, and foster a more inclusive society where everyone is valued and respected. Down Syndrome Awareness...
Congratulations, Parker, on Your Ruby Rainbow Scholarship!
Let me introduce you to Parker Libolt of Center Point, Iowa. Parker is as big a Hawkeye fan as you’ll ever meet because he is living the dream of being enrolled in the REACH program at the University of Iowa. If you wonder how a young man with Down syndrome...
We Welcome the Windsor Heights Police Department to GiGi’s!
If I told you that a trio of “Windsor Height’s Finest” dropped in on GiGi’s this past Friday evening for out latest edition of Fantastic Friends, you might be concerned that they were responding to a call. Well, they were, but not the kind of call you might think. You...
Joey Counts to Five
“High Five.” “Take Five.” “Five will get you ten.” “Five Alive.” Some of these expressions (like the first two) are common, whereas the last two examples are a bit dated. (Where have you gone, “Five Alive” fruit juice blend? To Canada, evidently, where it’s still readily on sale at the...
GiGi’s Playhouse: In the Heart of Bulldog Country!
As Summer slips into Fall, college football takes center stage. And, as many Iowans pronounce an allegiance to the Hawkeyes or the Cyclones, many participants at GiGi’s Playhouse will be cheering for their hometown Drake Bulldogs. Why? Because our Fall Intern Tatum Aragon is a proud Drake undergrad, and she’s...
GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge: Another HUGE Success!
The weather was only the beginning of what made Saturday, August 23rd so special. The temps and clear skies also set the stage for a great GiGi’s Playhouse 5K Donut Run and One Mile Inspirational Walk! We had 39 teams joining us and a total of 525 people that took...
Welcome, Kaitlin Hohnstrater!
When I started as Executive Director at GiGi’s Playhouse in October of last year, I was blown away by the programming that this place offered children, teens and adults with Down syndrome. Since the start of 2025, we are averaging 369 participant “check-ins” tallying an average of 579 program hours...
Annali Takes School Bus 12 to GiGi’s Playhouse!
The School Bus 12 Facebook page cover photo features a quote that says, “Empowering Artists with Disabilities, One Shirt at a Time”. We contend that they do much more than that. They also spread awareness and provide financial support for organizations like ours! I first learned about this unique Centerville...
Outside Beauty to Match the Inside!
When you walk or drive by GiGi’s Playhouse, you are met with adorable and handsome full window photos of our participants with their trademark smiling faces. You know right away that GiGi’s is a place filled with joy. But anyone who walks by and takes a closer look will notice...
A Warm and Welcome First Visit to GiGi’s
You know, some people who drive by GiGi’s Playhouse get the idea that it’s a photography studio because of the beautiful bigger-than-life photos of smiling people that fill the windows. Some think that it’s a childcare center due to our name or the playful logo that appears above the front...
The GiGi’s “Ripple Effect”
When I present to a group, I often use a power point that, among other things, tells the history of GiGi’s Playhouse and our Des Moines location. There is a slide in that presentation that talks about the “ripple effect” – how a single method of outreach can make a...
Maddz: Everyone Deserves a Birthday Celebration!
You’ve probably heard the myths about Down syndrome, including “People with Down syndrome are always so happy”. I can say that, although many of the people that I’ve met with Down syndrome tend to express joy more freely than most, they also convey the same range of emotions that anyone...