21 Ways to Celebrate Acceptance with GiGi’s Playhouse Fort Wayne

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month! We’re taking it one step further and going beyond awareness. We’re working all month long to spread ACCEPTANCE for individuals with Down syndrome. Here are 21 ways you can take action this October!

1. Volunteers make the magic in our playhouse possible. Join us for our October Volunteer Orientation to learn more about our volunteer opportunities.
2. It takes 250 volunteers each year to run our Playhouse. Sign up to volunteer at one of our free, purposeful programs! To volunteer for a select program, register below:
   • Ballet
   • Cooking Club
   • Drums Alive
   • Genesis Health Bar
   • Yoga
3. Work with GiGi’s Playhouse Fort Wayne to employ an adult with Down syndrome. Our GiGi U graduates and Genesis Health Bar ambassadors are trained and ready to put their skills to work in our greater Fort Wayne community. Contact Mandy Drakeford to learn more.
4. Attend one of our purposeful programs. Register on our calendar.
5. If you’re a parent of an individual with Down syndrome, consider attending our Family Speaker Night: What Every Parent Needs to Know: Your Child Working While Receiving State and Federal Benefits.
6. Stop in to Genesis Health Bar and order a wrap, salad, smoothie or toast to help provide career training opportunities for adults with Down syndrome!
7. Mark your calendars for a special virtual celebration of acceptance on October 24, 2020. Join us, in partnership with DSANI and Bring It-Push It-Own It, for “Get Down for Down Syndrome” from 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. in the comfort of your own home! Register online to enjoy movement, dance, special appearances from Disney princesses and more!
8. Join Club 21 and commit to making a donation of $21 every month to provide free, purposeful programs for individuals with Down syndrome. Invite your friends to donate, too!
9. Challenge people to make the #GenerationG promise. Draw a “G” on your hand and post it on social media, showing your friends and family that you’re committed to: Be Accepting. Be Kind. Be Generous.
10. Get outside of your comfort zone. Say “hi” to someone different from you.
11. Wear Blue & Yellow and post it on social media with #DSAM and #GiGisPlayhouseFortWayne.
12. Gather a group of your co-workers and place a catering order with Genesis Health Bar.
13. Place an order for customized mugs from our ambassadors for the holidays! Call the playhouse at (260) 482-7529
14. Ask your child’s teacher or local library if you can read a book aloud that celebrates differences: “A Friend Like Anian” or “Charlie’s Way”.
15. Hold a watch party with your friends and screen The Peanut Butter Falcon or Born This Way.
16. Follow GiGi’s Playhouse Fort Wayne on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter and SHARE our posts and stories of acceptance!
17. Decorate your windows with Blue & Yellow “G” hearts. Encourage local Fort Wayne businesses to do the same!
18. Live #GenerationG by doing a random act of kindness with a note that says “You’ve been #GenGd in honor of Down
    Syndrome Acceptance Month!”
19. Commit to using people first language. People first language emphasizes the person first and not the disability. It describes what a person has and not who a person is. Instead of saying “a disabled person”, say, “a person with a disability”. Instead of  saying, “a Down syndrome man” or ” a Downs kid,” say, “a person with Down syndrome.”
20. Learn more about Down syndrome and what a Down syndrome diagnosis includes.
21. Mark your calendars to participate in and support our 2021 events:
    • Annual Gala – April 23, 2021
    • GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge – June 5, 2021
    • 6th Annual Golf Outing – September 2, 2021

Thank you for joining us in spreading acceptance throughout Fort Wayne and beyond!