‘i Have a Voice’ Gala

Each year, GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster celebrates their participants and overall mission of ‘Changing the Way the World Views Down Syndrome’ with a gala. This year, GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster hosted the “i Have a Voice” Gala at the Double Tree Resort in Lancaster on March 25, 2023  

The theme of the evening was a masquerade! Participants and their families were encouraged to dress in their finest attire, complete with a dazzling mask. The venue was decorated with balloons and beautiful tablescapes that created an ambiance for a spectacular event.  

The participants and their families enjoyed a wonderful dinner and drinks, while engaging with one another. Two of our participants, Caitlin and Ronnie, delivered speeches about how GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster has impacted their lives and their favorite programs at the Playhouse. After dinner, there were games, raffles and plenty of dancing. The dance floor was packed, while Colin York, local actor and singer, entertained the crowd.  

We also had the honor of presenting two awards to a volunteer and an organization.  

Our Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Maggie Alboum, for her selflessness and number of hours spent volunteering at the Playhouse. Maggie truly goes above and beyond, dedicating her time and talents to the participants and overall operations of the Playhouse. She has formed strong relationships, particularly with our adult participants, whom adore her. She continually seeks out connections in the community, looking for donations or opportunities for our adult participants to get involved. She found GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster after loving the show Born this Way and googling something similar in the area.  

The Generation G award is presented to an individual or an organization who goes above and beyond, embracing acceptance, generosity and kindness. This year’s Generation G award was presented to LCBC, whose acceptance, generosity, and kindness has been impacting GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster over the past 3 years. Individual volunteers and groups of volunteers from LCBC have shown up to help at numerous GiGi’s events, always willing to jump in or do whatever it takes to show kindness to families. More recently, this organization chose GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster as one of their ‘Be Rich’ partners, sending consistent volunteers to every program in the months of November and December 2022. LCBC also showed up at GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster and surprised us with a very generous check as a donation towards our new building, the largest amount we have ever been given from one organization! We were delighted to give this award out at our Gala to Diana Griffith, on behalf of LCBC.  

The ‘i Have a Voice’ gala is GiGi’s Playhouse Lancaster’s largest annual fundraiser of the year. Without the help of our volunteers, families and sponsors, we would not be able to continue to build upon our mission.  This gala is the key to providing us with the ability to impact more families and expand the #GenerationG message of acceptance in our community and around the world!