{"id":458874,"date":"2021-06-25T10:21:58","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T14:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/?p=458874"},"modified":"2021-06-25T10:21:58","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T14:21:58","slug":"volunteer-spotlight-abigail-calumpit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/volunteer-spotlight-abigail-calumpit\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Spotlight: Abigail Calumpit"},"content":{"rendered":"

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT ALERT! Meet Abigail\u00a0Calumpit. Abigail is an active volunteer within our community assisting with everything from creating social media graphics to tutoring as a part of our\u00a0LitLab\u00a0program. We are lucky to\u00a0have her and are excited to share more about Abigail below.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How and when did you first get involved with\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC?<\/span><\/i><\/b>
\nI first got involved with\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC back in late 2019, but due to the pandemic I only began volunteering in December of 2020. I learned about\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0amazing programs from a school advisor when I shared about my sister\u00a0who had\u00a0Down syndrome.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why did you decide to volunteer with\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC?<\/span><\/i><\/b>
\nMy younger and only sister who had Down\u00a0syndrome passed away at an early age due to severe heart complications. To this day, she is my hero and my primary drive to pursuing a career in medicine. I want to help others like my sister and serve the community that she would have been a part of. I was inspired by\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC\u2019s\u00a0goal to see a world that not only accepts but also embraces individuals with Down\u00a0syndrome, and when I found out that\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC\u00a0offers\u00a0educational and career development programs\u00a0at no cost, I knew right away that I wanted to help out.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What does\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC mean to you?<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To me\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC is a safe place for everyone to learn and enjoy their passions,\u00a0whatever they may be.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is your favorite thing about the\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC community?<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My favorite aspect of\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC community is how close-knit, understanding, and accepting it is. No matter what challenges we face in life, I know that we have\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0community to fall back on. Every time I log\u00a0onto a\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0meeting, I immediately feel safe and relaxed because of the super welcoming environment it offers and the friendly people I get to meet and become friends with.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How do you enjoy spending your free time?<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I’m not volunteering with\u00a0GiGi’s\u00a0NYC, I like to go hiking in the mountains or go bouldering, which is a type of wall climbing that does not require you to be strapped in a harness because the walls are shorter. I also like to\u00a0read nonfiction\u00a0novels like\u00a0<\/span>Educated<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and watch sci-fi films like\u00a0<\/span>Interstellar<\/span><\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>Tenet<\/span><\/i>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please join\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC in extending a huge thank you to Abigail for her support of the Down syndrome community and all that she brings to our Playhouse!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT ALERT! Meet Abigail\u00a0Calumpit. Abigail is an active volunteer within our community assisting with everything from creating social media graphics to tutoring as a part of our\u00a0LitLab\u00a0program. We are lucky to\u00a0have her and are excited to share more about Abigail below.\u00a0\u00a0 How and when did you first get involved with\u00a0GiGi\u2019s\u00a0NYC? I first got involved…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":288,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1082],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-458874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-volunteer-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/288"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=458874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/458874\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=458874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=458874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/newyork\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=458874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}