{"id":19730,"date":"2022-10-07T17:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-10-07T22:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/?p=19730"},"modified":"2022-10-07T15:48:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-07T20:48:33","slug":"join-us-in-saying-farewell-but-not-goodbye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/join-us-in-saying-farewell-but-not-goodbye\/","title":{"rendered":"Join us in Saying Farewell…But Not Goodbye!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Dear GiGi\u2019s Nashville family:<\/span>
\n\u202f<\/span>
\nIt is with both deep gratitude and sadness that we announce that our friend and Executive Director, Carter Abel, has made the decision to step down from his staff role at GiGi\u2019s at the end of October.<\/span>We, as a board, want to thank Carter for the three plus years he spent sending his warmth and good cheer out into our community. We will miss his leadership, dedication, and commitment to our GiGi\u2019s Playhouse and the larger Down syndrome community here in Middle Tennessee.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As our very first executive director, Carter will always have a special place in our hearts.\u00a0 He came into the position with the passion of a dedicated father and was able to successfully lead us through some hard trials, from rebuilding our staff from the ground up to responding to the significant impact of COVID-19 on our programming and fundraising. We were proud to have his steady hand on the helm throughout these past three years, and we know we are better positioned now than we were when he came on board. We want to share just a few of the most notable accomplishments under Carter\u2019s leadership:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • In 2021, we provided FREE services to over 145 individuals with Down syndrome and <\/span>nearly 300 additional family members who logged nearly 3,300 participation hours of programming.\u00a0 This included over 600 hours of 1:1 math and literacy tutoring to help our participants continue to grow and reach their \u201cBest of All.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • We organized parent and community education programs that reached more than 100 families annually.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • We contributed virtual programs and resources to the network-wide GiGi\u2019s At Home platform, reaching tens of thousands of people from 82 different countries.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • We successfully launched our Sumner County extension (with our partner NorthField Church) to bring the magic of GiGi\u2019s out to the northern suburbs.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • We expanded our adult programming to include GiGi Prep and GiGiU, two- and three-day\/week offerings that support our adults in reaching their life and career goals.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Annually, GiGi\u2019s Nashville hosts almost 200 volunteers who generously donate over 2,500 service hours.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Even in the midst of the pandemic, we maintained our solid financial footing to ensure our lifetime commitment to walk beside the families we serve.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Carter was this year\u2019s recipient of the Mollie Burd Gavigan Service Award from the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee in recognition of his work celebrating and supporting our friends with Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0<\/span>It is our sincere hope that you will thank Carter for his service by joining us for chili and treats at our Trunk or Treat Party on October 30<\/span><\/b>th<\/span><\/b>.<\/span><\/b><\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"<\/a> \"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

While we will all miss Carter in his role as Executive Director, he and his family will always be part of our Nashville GiGi\u2019s community\u2026 and we hope to see him and his family (especially Micah!) in programs regularly.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Part of Carter\u2019s enduring legacy is the fabulous staff that he has cultivated during his time as Executive Director.\u00a0\u00a0 With their expertise and enthusiasm, we plan to continue operating at full capacity during this interim period.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A Letter From Carter<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Dear<\/span> Friends,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Serving on the team at GiGi\u2019s these last several years has been a joy and a privilege. This place has meant so much to our family since the birth of our son, Micah, and I have loved having the opportunity to give back to this community which has served our family and others like mine so well over the years. Everyone who I\u2019ve had the opportunity to serve alongside is remarkable and wonderful\u2014our board, our staff, our volunteers, our supporters, and our families\u2014and I am excited to remain a part of this community for years to come.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>The decision to step down from my role as Executive Director was not one I came to lightly. This past year has been challenging for my family, with evolving responsibilities, health situations, and other life changes making it difficult to balance the growing reach of GiGi\u2019s with the demands of being a good father, husband, and family member. As such, I will be transitioning into a new role with another nonprofit organization dear to my heart\u2014Compassion International\u2014that will free up more time to focus on my family in the coming season of life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But this is not goodbye! My family and I are so excited to stay involved with GiGi\u2019s as participants in programs and events, and I am looking forward to contributing as a volunteer as I\u2019m needed and able.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I truly believe the best is yet to come for GiGi\u2019s Nashville. The staff is amazing, and we have so many strong volunteers that will continue making programs meaningful and impactful. The sky is the limit, and I\u2019m excited to see what comes of this place and mission in the years ahead.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Thank you for the opportunity to serve\u2014it\u2019s been a true gift. Onwards and upwards!<\/span><\/p>\n

Carter Abel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear GiGi\u2019s Nashville family: \u202f It is with both deep gratitude and sadness that we announce that our friend and Executive Director, Carter Abel, has made the decision to step down from his staff role at GiGi\u2019s at the end of October.We, as a board, want to thank Carter for the three plus years he…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1496,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[789,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-community","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1496"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19730\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/nashville\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}