advocacy
Introducing Board Member- Jacob Donohue
Board Member- Jacob Donohue Jacob Donohue has been a part of our Board of Directors since January 2022. He is a Store Director at Festival Foods and currently oversees their downtown Madison location. He has worked for Festival for 15 years and has held a variety of different roles in many of their stores across…
Read MoreIntroducing our New Executive Board
Incredible Leadership= Incredible Playhouse Our Playhouse is 99% volunteer run and some of our most active and impactful volunteers are our Board of Directors! At our June Board meeting elections were held for the 2022-2024 term and we are pleased to announce our new Executive Board. Kimberly Arndt was our Vice President and moved into…
Read MoreCelebrating Those Who Are Uncelebrated
A Tribute to Evelyn Charlotte Peters January 12, 1914- February 18, 1931 In May 2022, Cindy Hasse contacted the Playhouse to see if we would be interested in some quilts created by someone with Down syndrome. We jumped at the chance and were surprised by the incredible story that came along with these quilts. Cindy…
Read MoreFinding a Place to Belong
This post is about a pilot program established by GiGi’s Playhouse Madison called Dynamic Duals. This is a monthly program designed specifically for families & individuals with a dual diagnosis of Down syndrome-Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or sensory or behavioral challenges. Parents meet in one area to connect, have fun, share successes, resources, and strategies while…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight- LMNOP and Edgewood College
LMNOP Fun! To close out our Volunteer Appreciation Month spotlights- we are sharing about some of our awesome Child Life students from Edgewood College! Emily Jost, Kendra Sanderfoot, Lauren Reilly and Laney Garrels lead our LMNOP (Language, Music ‘N Our Peeps) program on Friday morning. This dedicated group brings energy, creativity and lots of excitement…
Read MoreVolunteers that Inspire
April is Volunteer Appreciation month and we are sharing another inspiring story with you. Betsy and Jayna in a literacy session Betsy Kelley is a new volunteer and first time Literacy tutor with GiGi’s. From the very beginning Betsy has given her own “best of all” by fully preparing for her role through completing her…
Read MoreWelcome Board Member- Tim McDonald
Passion and Experience We are fortunate to have growth in our Board of Directors and are thrilled to introduce you to Tim McDonald! Tim is not only a Board Member, he is also a Playhouse Dad. Tim has spent 36 years with the steamfitters union as a superintendent and project manager and is now retired.…
Read MoreWelcome Board Member- Fred Swanson
Experience and Personality! We are excited to share that Fred Swanson has joined our Board of Directors! Fred has recently retired from public education in Wisconsin. He spent 29 years at West HS in Madison, WI where he developed and led a team of dedicated educators in the delivery of transition services to students with…
Read MoreWorld Down Syndrome Day- A Day to Showcase How Capable our Community Is
photo credit: Stephanie Ann Schnizlein Guest Blog by Playhouse Mom- Michele Riederer We did not know of Thomas’ diagnosis until after birth but, I can tell you that I spent A LOT of time thinking about what life will look like for him. I thought about how he will get the support and help he…
Read MoreLucky for So Many Reasons
Guest Blog by Playhouse Mom – Abby Green: Today we feel lucky. Although he’s a little extra and rare, we sure feel lucky that Owen is ours! From conception, our youngest only had a 0.8% chance of surviving… yet here he is changing our world (and maybe changing yours a little too). We…
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