9th Annual Dancing For Down Syndrome 2023
GiGi's NYC hosted our 9th Annual Dancing For Down Syndrome event on June 10th, part of a global MOVEment for acceptance. Spearheaded by our Youth Board for a second year, this event raised over $25,000! The party got started with a dance warm up lead by GiGi's NYC volunteer and interdisciplinary artist, Zoje Azeke. DJ Daren, an individual with Down syndrome who successfully earned a DJ'ing certificate in 2018, kept the crowd moving with his high-energy set. Our participants and families had a blast!
GiGi's NYC thanks all of our participants, families, volunteers, donors and community partners for making this day possible. With your support, we are able to continue providing life-changing programs and events at no cost to our community, while advancing our mission of spreading acceptance and awareness for individuals with Down syndrome.
A Special Thank You to our Hero Sponsor
Mireya Kam
8th Annual Dancing for Down Syndrome 2022
On June 11, GiGi's NYC inaugural Youth Board successfully hosted their first event with our community and helped us raise over $20,000! Due to the kindness and generosity of our supporters, GiGi's NYC is able to regularly host invaluable programs and events for individuals with Down syndrome and their families at no cost to them. We are immensely grateful to our Youth Board, Associate Board, Board of Directors, volunteers, participants and families for another memorable event!
7th Annual Dancing For Down Syndrome 2021
Thank you to everyone in our community and beyond who supported GiGi's NYC 7th Annual Dancing for Down Syndrome event on June 5, 2021. With your generosity, we raised over $20,000.
Your support makes it possible for us to provide life-enhancing programs and events at no cost to those who need them most. Our vision is to see a world that is socially just; where individuals with Down syndrome have a voice, and are accepted and embraced in their families, schools and communities, to help improve the world and make it a better place to live, work and prosper.
We are truly grateful for your support of our important work!
6th Annual Dancing for Down Syndrome 2019
We are so thankful to everyone who came out to support GiGi's Playhouse NYC this year! This event gave families, friends and the community a chance to promote awareness of the unique joys of loving someone with Down syndrome, advocate for their full acceptance and inclusion in society, and contribute to the sustainability of GiGi’s Playhouse NYC.
Thank you to Marymount School of New York!
Dancing for Down Syndrome 2017
For a month leading up to the party, members of our community supported GiGi's through grassroots fundraising and inviting their networks to learn more about GiGi's. In all we raised over $24,000 for GiGi's Playhouse NYC!
Dancing for Down Syndrome 2016
We dream of a New York City in which individuals with Down syndrome are not only accepted but embraced and given opportunities to achieve their dreams. We are changing perceptions one story at a time! We had a great time celebrating the Down syndrome community of NYC at our annual fundraising and awareness campaign. Thank you to everyone who created a page and fundraised for the Playhouse!
Photo Credit: Alvin Shih and Lakshmi Menon. 
Environmental Building Services
Guardian Service Industries
Safety Facility Services
RB Samuels, Inc.
Triple Crown Locksmith, Inc
Dancing for Down Syndrome 2015
Thank you to our 2015 sponsors!
Safety Building Cleaning Corp. • Kids for Kids Foundation • Browne Supply Co.
Thank you for Dancing for Down syndrome and being a champion for the future of our community. Together we are changing the way New York City perceives what individuals with Down syndrome can accomplish!
41 of individuals set up pages and shared stories of how Down syndrome has touched their lives. They then shared these stories with friends, family, and neighbors and invited them to support GiGi’s Playhouse- New York. Thanks to your efforts, and the generosity of our sponsors, we were able to raise over 30,000 dollars, money which will help sustain the Playhouse as a resource to our community!
For many families, GiGi’s Playhouse is a lifeline, and an essential resource throughout their child’s life and into adulthood. Our dream is to grow our Dancing for Down Syndrome campaign each year until all of New York City is buzzing with positivity about our vibrant community! Join us next year!
Dancing for Down Syndrome 2014
Thank you to our donors
The Down syndrome community of New York City did something that has never been done before. A minuscule fraction of the 4 to 5 thousand families touched by Down syndrome estimated to live in the metropolitan area, shared their experiences of loving someone with Down syndrome on Playhouse supported web pages. Thirtyfive families posted their stories on the internet and emailed them to friends and acquaintances around the world. Neighborhoods were papered with flyers telling stories about the love of these special
individuals. Neighbors and colleagues were invited to sponsor these pioneering families to “Dance for Down syndrome” at a celebration hosted by New Song Community Church, in South Harlem on June 14th. There is no way to measure the impact of the hundreds of individuals touched by the personal stories that were shared on the Dancing for Down Syndrome family pages. Many of these stories expressed touchingly intimate details of what it’s like to love someone with Down syndrome and the power of being supported by the Playhouse community.
Measuring the sustainability of $35,000 raised by these individual fundraising efforts is as easy as elementary school mathematics. These few families sharing their stories in such a simple way, paid for our community center home and utilities for a full year! No matter how we measure our success, we can be proud that families who come to the Playhouse and experience the impact of our free classes, workshops, lectures, parties and events have taken the lead in supporting a sustainable community center for all New Yorkers touched by Down syndrome. Together we are redefining Down syndrome as a proud and joyful community of families working together; supporting our children and each other so that our loved ones can make a meaningful contribution to this great city. Because of our advocacy as a community, when New Yorkers brag about living in a city rich in diversity and inclusion, the images conjured will include the thousands of beautiful faces with the distinctive features of Down syndrome! We did it! Together. And this is just beginning!
Britt Sady, Executive Director