January 2025 Best of All
January is always hard because everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. This year, we kicked off the year with lots of great programs including some we've never offered before! Below are just some of the Best of All moments that we picked to highlight!...
Welcome Spring 2025 Interns
We are excited to welcome several interns this spring for their internship. You may have seen the welcome back blog post for Maddie. If you missed it, it is linked here. Maddie will lead several programs this spring as part of her Occupational Therapy capstone project. In addition to having...
Welcome Back, Maddie
Spring 2025 Intern welcome or should we say welcome back?! As Maddie, explains below she's been here before, and many of you may have worked with or seen her around. If you attended the 2024 SAU Trivia Night which was a community fundraiser for GiGi's, you had the pleasure of...
This is not goodbye!
You will soon see that we are advertising for an Executive Director position here at our Playhouse. You may say to yourself, wait, what? Isn’t that Pam’s position? The answer to that would be yes and no. It’s complicated! I wanted to personally tell you that this is not a...
Game On!
Games, games, and more games, there are just so many to choose from. Whether it’s Uno, Dominoes, or Sorry, games are fun, but they are also a purposeful learning tool Have you ever stopped to think about how many skills are involved in playing a game? You have to read...
Best of All December 2024
Participant Best of All Matthew participates in as many programs as possible and his family is committed to making the hour-long drive to the Quad Cities! Matthew recently participated in one-on-one speech, literacy tutoring, adult group speech, and the Achievers program. He is often here for multiple programs on the...
Spring 2025 Programs
Yes, we know it’s December and we’re all busy with holiday planning and shopping BUT here at GiGi’s we’re also planning and finalizing details for spring 2025 programs. The calendar is already packed with something for all ages. All programs are FREE and purposefully designed for individuals with Down syndrome....
November 2024 Best of All
Participant Best of All “Emma got a private music class and did her Best of All by staying engaged for 45 minutes! She had a blast singing and signing about Thanksgiving and playing instruments!” – Music Makers “Hannah did her Best of All at LMNOP! She explored rhythm with shakers,...
SOE Champions
Several of our staff and board members attended the annual GiGi's Conference earlier this month. This conference is always a highlight of the year. It's a chance to connect and network with other Playhouses' staff and board members, hear from inspirational keynote speakers, and so much more. “My favorite part...
October 2024 Best of All
Participant Best of All This summer, we launched an all-new program called Music Makers - Rock Band for ages 16 and up. This group has met every Thursday since the beginning of June to learn different instruments and skills. After months of practicing they performed twice in October. Their first...
Celebrating FRIENDS and Volunteers
A message from our Gala Committee: Thank you to the 350+ people who attended or supported the annual fundraising gala. We loved seeing old friends and meeting new FRIENDS too. It was great having Andrew Stutzke as our emcee and the speakers were inspirational and informational too! The entertainment, especially the...
September 2024 Best of All
Participant Best of All Grandparents are participants too! Programs at GiGi's are a family affair. Siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles are always welcome. We recently had a program specifically for Grandparents and while we only had a couple attend it was still a magical morning. Grandparents, you are welcome anytime!...