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🌟 Embrace the joy of giving back! 🌟
GiGi’s Playhouse Milwaukee is searching for vibrant volunteers to add their personal touch to events, fundraising, tutoring, and programs among other areas. Just 1-2 hours per week can create a world of impact! Your energy is the key to the growth and success of GiGi’s Playhouse, a place dedicated to fostering acceptance and life-changing opportunities…
Read MoreEvent Highlight: Glow Party!
The New Year’s Glow Party was a huge success with all of our attendees! Direct feedback from Ravaughn, “I love this party! And Emily, “This was great!” were both testaments to the fun had by all, much of it a result of the excellent Nicolet High School volunteers (7 total) who assisted and participated. We…
Read MoreVolunteer Spotlight: Marquette University Occupational Therapy Dept.
Students from Marquette University’s College of Health Sciences in the area of Occupational Therapy (OT) facilitated our Fall 2023 GiGi Prep program with an emphasis on building communication skills, money management, customer service skills, team building, health, and personal wellness. Both the participants and volunteers voiced their enthusiasm and appreciation for the program with the…
Read MoreParticipant Best of All – Myron
“Our 3 y/o son Myron has gained independence, is singing along to more songs, is making more sounds, and is imitating more words. Miss Fiona and Ms. Jen are always coming up with fun activities to keep my son engaged and his sister loves to come along and play.” – Kristy, Myron’s mom. Kristy is referring…
Read MoreThe Power of Inclusion: Celebrating Local Individuals with Down Syndrome in Swimming
At first glance, swimming may seem like a simple recreational activity or sport, but for individuals with Down syndrome, there is more to it than that. The joys and challenges of swimming on a team also shows the importance of integration and inclusion in sporting activities. It is still not commonplace to see our friends…
Read MoreGiGi’s Goes to Rainbow Day Camp, 2023
The first week of August, 2023 we took 10 participants of GiGi’s Playhouse to Rainbow Day Camp as a guest of the Jewish Community Center (JCC). Our participants spanned the ages of 10-18 and all have Down syndrome. Due to the supports put in place by our volunteers and prior camp coordination, our campers blended…
Read MoreTutoring – A Volunteer’s Perspective
This summer I had the opportunity to tutor a 7-year-old named Miles in literacy. I really enjoyed doing this and I think that the experience was definitely something I would do again. It was a little tricky getting Miles to focus on what we were supposed to do, but after trying different ways to get…
Read MoreParticipant Best of All: Baz – How his focus grew this summer.
Leaps and Bounds, I know here we go again, but wait it’s another kid doing great things, showing his Best of All…Seriously, this program has it all for our young learners! There is music for sing-a-longs with sign language to grow our communication skills, obstacle courses of all kinds to get the wiggles out in…
Read MoreWORLD DOWN SYNDROME DAY 2023
As World Down Syndrome Day approaches, I have a confession to make. I have never really understood if we were supposed to celebrate Down syndrome or spread awareness. Officially, WDSD was founded and officially observed by the United Nations in 2012 as a global awareness day. The 21st day of the 3rd month was selected…
Read MoreParticipant Best of All: Luke
Luke has been making strides in his sight-word reading with his tutor Marissa over the past two sessions of 1:1 Literacy Tutoring. Marissa collaborated with our Program and Volunteer Coordinator to create literacy instruction activities that center around movement and Luke’s sporting interests. This connection has improved his attentiveness during lessons and he has been…
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