It happened in 2019 at GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough

2019 has been an amazing year at GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough. We expanded our programs, made new contacts within the community and continued to make a powerful impact on the lives of individuals with Down syndrome.

Sabrina, Chris & Mary shopping during LIFE.

Programming
While we continued to offer the same programs that our participants have come to love, new programs were introduced as well. Destination Discovery was introduced in April, bringing a program that allowed all ages to work together and achieve their best of all in all areas of therapeutic play.

Partnering with Occupational Therapist Katherine, the adults were invited to participate in our pilot program Living Independently is For Everyone (LIFE). Each week participants picked a new recipe, shopped for the ingredients (staying within a budget), and then followed the recipe to prepare a meal.

Community

Spartan Spirit! Students at Immaculata High School took the GenerationG pledge!

2019 saw a lot of growth in community partnerships. Founding President Erin Morris, Playhouse Manager Liz Kepniss and parent Melissa Diaz have traveled to area schools to introduce GiGi’s Playhouse and talk about Down syndrome. Speaking at Immaculate High School has resulted in an ongoing partnership that includes monthly coffee carts (staffed by GiGi’s participants) and special events staffed by Immaculata students.

Volunteers from Liquid Church

Connections were also made at the Renaissance Women’s Club, where members fundraised for a year in honor of the Playhouse. Liquid Church Somerset has come on as a community partner running Fantastic Friends once a month.

Impact
This year saw over 3,100 volunteer hours donated to GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough. The work and dedication of these individuals made it possible for our program participants to come to the Playhouse over 1,500 times for our free educational and therapeutic programs.

Looking forward to 2020…

Cutting the ribbon at our Grand Opening, January 11, 2015

We are excited to celebrate our 5th Anniversary on Saturday, January 11, 2020! Our first five years have flown by and we can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together in the next five. But we cannot get there without a little help from our friends.

As a self-funded 501c3 nonprofit that is 99% volunteer run, these are three biggest ways you can help:

1. Volunteer– As an organization that is 98% volunteer run, help is always needed. From admin work to programs and everything in between, there is no wrong way to volunteer if your intentions are true.
2. Spread the Word– Follow GiGi’s Playhouse Hillsborough on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter! By liking and sharing our posts you can help spread our mission for global acceptance.
3. Donate– As a self-funded nonprofit, we can use every little of bit of help. You can make a monetary donation or, if you prefer, you can select an item to donate from our website wish list or Amazon wish list.

Let’s make 2020 our best year yet!