Breathtaking!
A month of giving and learning at GiGi's Playhouse NYC Jordana Mendelson, Education Director From mid-December to mid-January, the volunteers at GiGi's Playhouse NYC have been very busy, and I could not be prouder of the community we have all become over these past two years. To see the...
Really Making a Difference
It was an honor for Marilee and I to represent GiGi's Playhouse NYC at the Manhattan Family Resource Fair on Wednesday, December 11. I was concerned that the 18th floor of the Hotel Pennsylvania would not draw in a crowd, such as St. Paul The Apostle venue of last year....
The Adventure
It’s a Sunday morning with the grandchildren in Brooklyn. Mom and Dad are off on a weekend in the Berkshires, so Marilee and I are babysitting Abby, 9, Maggie, 6, and Louis (pronounced Louie), 5. Maggie wants to practice riding her “new” bike, while Abby runs along beside. We go...
GiGi’s on The Laura Ingraham Show!
Laura Ingraham, radio host of “The Laura Ingraham Show”, has been airing her entertaining commentary on news, culture, and politics since 2001. GiGi’s Playhouse NYC has recently been featured on a pre-taped interview for one of Laura’s upcoming radio shows. Stay tuned to find out when the episode will air!...
Necessarily resourceful and imaginative
Without naming any names, I was bragging about the remarkable humanity of one of the Playhouse's most generous contributors - a mother with a child with Down syndrome. I was listing a few of her many contributions to another very generous philanthropist who is making a huge contribution to the...
A Rainy Day in Harlem
GiGi’s Playhouse - and Harlem - have continued to be an eye-opening experience for this grandfather. On this past Wednesday I drove into the city from Connecticut to view two properties as potential new homes for the Playhouse. I was soon to discover the treasure of my day lay not...
Secret to a Happy Life
My three year old has Down syndrome. This felt like an unbearable tragedy when I first got the news. But over time, I've come to love my child, as parents tend to, with that blind mother-love that sees only the perfect and beautiful in the most mundane detail of infant...
Ready to LOVE?
Some people think Valentine's Day is too commercial. Not at GiGi's Playhouse! We are taking out the sparkly red hearts and St. Valentine arrows - we're making sure the disco ball and playlist are ready as we ramp up for another celebration GiGi's style. We are setting the stage to...
Each Other: The Discovery of Ability
Friday, July 31, 1970. I remember the day well, except for that time between receiving the phone call and now standing beside Dr. Hughes in the Emergency Room at Norwalk Hospital. I stood motionless, my body numbed. It seemed as though I had been transported here. A black stallion,...
A Place to feel proud
The party was spilling out the front and back doors of our new Harlem home. The cold and the drizzle were a welcome relief to those who had built up a sweat dancing in the shoulder to shoulder crowded room that so many New York families touched by Down syndrome...
Total Inclusion
“Can we talk about whether Havurah could be a viable option for this boy?” The email came last May, and I had no idea how the power of this one email would impact my life. Melissa Lader, in the Center for Special Needs, was connecting me to Aedan, a 4...
Understanding Sensory Processing w. Kirsten DeBear, MSEd, OTR
Last month at Kirsten's workshop: GiGis Playhouse delivers on its promise to raise expectations for children with Down syndrome, for their parents and for those who love them. On September 26th, Kirsten DeBear,MSEd., OTR – showed us how to do this with simple table top games. During Kirsten De Bear’s...