GiGi’s NYC Quarterly Highlights: July – September 2024

GiGi’s NYC 3rd quarter has wrapped up, and it was wonderful! We hosted our popular summer programs once again, and following that, we kicked off our fall semester. Check out all the highlights from our 3rd quarter below:

• Our summer programs were a blast! Our adult community enjoyed a number of enriching activities during Fantastic Friends, including:
  • Preparing sandwiches with One Sandwich At A Time and then delivering this donation to Common Pantry.
  • Having a field day in Central Park with community partner Morgan Stanley.
  • Visiting the New York Aquarium in Coney Island.
• Our Teen Tastic participants:
  • Became super sleuths at SpyScape.
  • Played virtual golf and soccer at Five Iron.
  • Explored the Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History.
• Our Kids Club participants:
  • ​​​​​Admired the hieroglyphs at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Took a boat cruise around NYC, enjoying stunning views of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
  • Enjoyed a movie at a neighboring theater.
• We were honored to be named a charity partner by Summer Double Dip, which raised $10,000 for the GiGi’s NYC community. Summer Double Dip is dedicated to creating a brighter, healthier, and more independent future for individuals with Down syndrome and other differing abilities, and we are immensely grateful for their generosity.
• Long-time participant Laura served as one of the Grand Marshals of the NDSS Buddy Walk in NYC.
• We kicked off our fall semester, featuring beloved community favorites like GiGi’s Night Out and LitLab, while introducing an exciting new program for our teens in partnership with Theatre Within: Art Explosion: MAD Art. This program is a series of fun and interactive workshops that immerses participants in the world of caricature and cartooning, led by acclaimed illustrator Sam Viviano.
• We launched GiGi Professional, the last program in our three-tiered Career Development Programs cycle. In this program, students build on the skills they acquired in the previous two semesters, GiGi Prep and GiGi University, through a series of “certifications” that focus on completing various administrative tasks relevant to the workplace or volunteer activities. They will also continue to develop other essential career readiness skills throughout the semester.
• ​​​​We also participated in NYS Senator Cordell Cleare’s Back-to-School event, providing resources to youth in Harlem.

We are extremely thankful for all our amazing participants, families, volunteers, donors, staff and community partners. We can do what we do because of YOU!