December 2020 Best of All!

Each month we look back on the previous month and choose 3 stories to share with our board and the national office.

We also highlight many of them on the Best of All Wall here at the Playhouse!

Here’s a look back on December 2020.

Participant Best of All:

For the month of December, we have chosen to spotlight our participant Vada! At the Christmas event 2018, Vada was nervous about meeting Santa. She stood back and observed all of her friends interact with him first. When it was time to leave, Vada was brave and said goodbye to Santa. Then she decided to give him a huge hug! This year, during our Curbside Sessions with Santa event, Vada was nervous about meeting Santa once again. Like the year before, she first observed as Santa spoke with another family about their Christmas wishes. Only a few minutes passed before Vada was wanting to visit with Santa! She had made him a Santa art piece and signed it and happily shared it with him once she was ready. Way to go Vada!  

Volunteer Spotlight:

Our volunteer spotlight this month shines on Miss Ana!

Ana has been volunteering with GiGi’s Playhouse Quad Cities since April of 2019, leading the Teen Tastic and Fantastic Friends program. Ana is a wonderful asset to our Playhouse. She is an enthusiastic, positive, and personable volunteer- making sure to get to know all the participants individually! She’s even showed off her adorable dog during virtual programming, which inspires everyone else to show off their pets! It’s always a blast with her. 

In December, she took time out of her evening to call most of the teens and adults to personally invite them to the last program of the year. She is also planning on tutoring for us this spring. 

Thank you for all you do, Miss Ana! 

Playhouse Inspiration (Donor, Outreach, Event, etc.):

We recently received a gracious donation of $5,000 from United HealthCare Inc in December! They are now an official sponsor for the 2021 GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge taking place on June 6th!! While this is a national event, you’ll see some familiarity locally. We will be partnering up our annual Superhero Run, Walk and Dash to be part of this larger event. Additional information coming soon!

Thank you United Healthcare for being the first sponsor for this event.