Welcome to Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this…… When you're going to have a...
A Unique Look Back at 2025
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the perfect time to look back at 2025. But we’ve decided to do it in a different way. Not with a “Best of” list, but something a bit different.For this reflection, we’ve collected some items found around the Playhouse, including a couple of things from...
Reflections from a GiGi’s Playhouse: Tatum
Hello, I'm Tatum Aragon, a senior at Drake University. I was an intern/volunteer at GiGi's Playhouse for the Fall semester and it was a great experience. I was proud to be part of as many GiGi’s programs as possible, but I was most eager to do this Fall was to...
Reflections from a GiGi’s Playhouse Intern: Allie
Hello. My name is Allie Petracek, and I’ve had the great privilege of serving as an intern at GiGi’s these last few months while working on my degree at Des Moines University.Over the course of the semester, I’ve seen so much good at GiGi’s. I have led or co-led GiGiFIT...
Lawson Elementary Shows How They Care!
These are the fourth graders from Lawson Elementary in Johnston. But more than that, this is what helping our GiGi’s Playhouse looks like!!!Each year, the fourth-grade class chooses an organization to help by collecting items that the organization might need. They were inspired by their classmate, Luke, who has Down...
Happy Heavenly Birthday, Mia!
Mia Peterson passed away on June 8, 2021. Today would have been her 52nd birthday.I am embarrassed to admit that I knew very little about Mia until just recently. While attending the GiGi’s Playhouse National Leadership Conference in Schaumburg this month, Nancy Gianni -- our Founder and Chief Belief Officer...
Downright Amazing
Have you noticed how popular rock painting has become lately? This, despite the fact that the act of applying paint to rock to create art is almost as old as time itself. And although finding a “perfect rock” to paint may seem elusive, painting any old rock is a great...
Greetings from California!
Last week, we got a call from some people from California to say that they would be stopping by to look at our Playhouse while they were passing through town. From California? Really? Needless to say, we were excited. Luckily, the Playhouse is always clean and orderly, because we didn’t...
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...