GiGi’s NYC Quarterly Highlights: October – December 2021

It’s a Wrap!

GiGi’s NYC recently closed out our Fall Semester, and what a semester it was! We celebrated Down Syndrome Achievement Month, hosted our Annual Gala and hosted a variety of weekly programs and other special events.

Check out the recap below to see some of our highlights during the fourth quarter of 2021:

  • ​​​​​We kicked off Down Syndrome Achievement Month with Connor Rodriguez and his parents, Marian and Fred, who hosted our community for an interactive baking demonstration and Q&A about Connor’s inspirational journey. At the age of 9, Connor wrote and published his first children’s book, I AM CONNOR, and at age 11 he came up with the idea to start the family business, Connor’s Canine Cookies.
  • We hosted our Annual Gala, with more than 200 guests who joined us IN-PERSON. We celebrated the many successes of our community, and recognized those who CONNECT by giving their time, talent and dedication to ensure those with Down syndrome ACHIEVE. The live stream of the event was equally as popular, and was enjoyed by a virtual audience near and far. Please enjoy this video of our 2021 Gala.
  • We named our newest GiGi’s NYC Ambassador, Danielle. To read more about her and her amazing achievements, please click here.
  • We said goodbye to long-time volunteer, and former Board President, Frank Sawyer, as one of our Board members. Frank resigned after co-chairing one of our most successful Galas to date. He has been a dedicated member of our community since he joined our team and has provided visionary leadership throughout his tenure. Although he will be truly missed, he will always be a welcome member of our family. We thank him for his many years of service, and we are forever grateful for all he contributed to make GiGi’s NYC a better place.
  • We partied away at our Annual Spooktacular Halloween Bash, filled with creative costumes, food, fun, dancing and games.
  • We introduced long-time GiGi’s NYC participant, Fatima, as our resident blogger. Check out Fatima’s monthly blog series, “Words of Wisdom,” on our website here.
  • We honored our Veterans for a special Veterans Day Appreciation event by hosting our community for a creative workshop focused around “What does the American Flag mean to us?” Participants used different artistic mediums to express their appreciation for our military personnel.
  • We re-launched our Best Buddies Chapters with The Dalton School and Columbia University, giving our participants the opportunity to connect regularly with their peer buddies in a one-to-one and group setting to engage in fun activities and conversations.
  • We held our second bi-annual Sports Clinic, with special guest Ryan Imparato, Clinician for the Brooklyn Nets Basketball Academy. Ryan, along with co-leaders and Associate Board members Kyle and Isaac, led our participants in various exercises and drills.
  • We closed out our musical theater program with The CO/LAB Theater Group by sharing a live performance of various musical numbers with our participants’ loved ones.

We are extremely thankful for all our amazing participants, families, volunteers, donors and staff who helped make this another successful semester of programming.

Please stay tuned for information about our upcoming Winter 2022 semester, beginning on January 11, 2022.

Happy Holidays!

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