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Celebrating 2021 Volunteer of the Year Katherine O’Neill
How does it feel to be named Volunteer of the Year for GiGi’s? I feel incredibly honored to be named Volunteer of the Year, but to be honest, I was completely shocked to hear my name mentioned! This year was the first time I’ve attended a GiGi’s gala, so I wasn’t aware of the various…
Read MoreDown Syndrome and the Sibling Dynamic
by Megan Labuda There are many questions we have as parents raising a child with Down syndrome. My daughter Penny is 10 years old. In addition to rocking her extra chromosome, she is on the autism spectrum. I remember a particular concern came to mind when Penny was just around 12 months old and we…
Read MoreMeet our 2021 Gala Chair Renay Stover!
Introducing our 2021 Gala Chair, Renay Stover! As you may know, the Gala is our most important annual fundraiser, during which we celebrate the progress of our participants, recognize and thank our supporters, and also raise the critical funds needed to help us continue offering FREE programs to the Down syndrome community. Themed “A Party…
Read MoreInnovating, Automating and Empowering at the 2020 Leadership Conference
It is no secret that I LOVE MY JOB as the GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough Playhouse Manager! Anyone who has worked with me at the Playhouse also knows that one of my favorite work events of the year is the annual Leadership Conference in Chicago. As with everything else in 2020, conference looked a lot different…
Read MoreWhat I Wish I Told My Doctor
GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough release of a brief but very powerful video What I Wish I Told My Doctor, produced to promote Down syndrome acceptance. The clip features Playhouse mom and board member Melissa, who speaks of the trials and hardship she faced when, at 18 weeks of pregnancy, it was discovered that her child likely…
Read MoreBringing Our Love for Karate to GiGi’s
by Brody and Luke Bouziotis About three years ago, we began volunteering at GiGi’s Playhouse because we needed to complete community service hours for Boy Scouts. Since we had just earned our Black Belts in Tae Kwon Do, we decided to sign up to volunteer at the program named Karate Kickers. The program leader at…
Read MoreThank You Mia, Lily, Jessica, Luke and Brody!
Closing the doors for in-person programming due to COVID-19 was a necessary decision for the safety of our program participants and volunteers. GiGi’s Playhouse quickly leapt into action and created GiGi’s at Home. I was amazed by the number of volunteers who stepped up to create content and lead live programs. Within days of suspending…
Read More1:1 with GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough Board President Colin McMullen
Although we have had to close our physical doors, suspend in-person programming, and cancel important events due to COVID-19, GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough still has a lot going on and much to be hopeful about, including the history-making Virtual Step to Accept Across America event coming up on Saturday, June 6. We recently spoke with our…
Read MoreThank You for Your Support!
These are unsure times for everyone. It seems as if the whole world is on hold during the pandemic. In the midst of all the change, we at GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough have been fortunate to see that some things remain constant: good people continue to do good, and our surrounding community is overflowing with individuals…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Why? with Youth Board President Amanda Williams
In this blog, we go 1:1 with GiGi’s Hillsborough Youth Board President Amanda Williams, who is a senior at the Academy of Health and Medical Science at Somerset County Votech High School. It was great to catch up with Amanda about her role as President and what our Youth Board is up to! Q: Why…
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