Our GiGi Professionals in the Community

At GiGi’s Playhouse, we strive to provide not only educational programming, but purposeful programming for individuals with Down syndrome throughout their lifespan. This is where our Career Development Programs come in! The goal of our Career Development Programs is to get our adults independent employment or volunteer opportunities in the community. In 2023, the unemployment rate of individuals with disabilities was 7.2%, which is about twice that of those with no disability at 3.5 %. GiGi’s Playhouse is on a mission to change that!

Kaleigh is a current Hugs & Mugs intern, and has recently started volunteering at a local therapy center, Kids Place! Kids Place provides Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy to children. GiGi’s and Kids Place first created a partnership when Kids Place founder, Kam, reached out to us in hopes to use some of our spaces for their clients who need some extra space during their sessions. This opened the door to so many potential opportunities between the two businesses.

Every Friday after her shift in Hugs & Mugs, Kaleigh goes over to Kids Place and volunteers her time for an hour. She cleans door handles, dusts blinds, cleans and sanitizes the craft room, sanitizes each therapy room, and vacuums & sanitizes the gym spaces. At first, Kaleigh was accompanied by a GiGi’s staff member or volunteer, who walked her through her checklist every step of the way. Now that Kaleigh is about 3 months into her volunteering, she is almost completely independent in her duties!

This partnership is not only beneficial for Kaleigh, as it gives her purpose in doing something that she enjoys to do, but it also gives the community a chance to see individuals with Down syndrome in the community working independently!