YOU are heroes and we thank YOU!

  • 47 Fundraising Teams
  • 50+ Volunteers
  • 715+ Registrations
  • 800+ Donations (monetary and in-kind)
  • $91,000+ Raised

Those numbers speak volumes to the support that the Quad Cities community shows for our local Playhouse but the numbers don’t always tell the story!

The story begins with 47 families, groups, and organizations stepping up to say they’d fundraise by setting up a team. That is the most teams we’ve ever had. You can see the complete list of teams linked here.

Additional stories include Team Ollie Pop having 46 teammates join his team to show support, the hugs, and smiles that were seen when friends saw each other, the pride in Gavin’s voice giving his top fundraising team speech, the applause after Kate sings another rendition of the National Anthem. The stories go on and on. What’s your favorite story from the day? Share here!

The overwhelming feelings of happiness and joy were everywhere we looked. It’s truly one of our favorite days of the year and that’s thanks to all of you! YOU are the heroes.

YOU registered, donated, and volunteered! YOU made the event not only possible but a success.

YOU #movedforacceptance!

Many thanks to the planning committee for putting in the time and effort to plan the event. This is not done in days or weeks but over an entire year!

  • Natalie Bates
  • Mark Taghon
  • Brian Yaklich
  • Amy Schatterman
  • Kim Nimrick
  • Pam Lynch

Thank you to Rockridge, Sherrard, and Alleman schools for allowing their buses and drives to shuttle attendees to and from the overflow parking lot. Thank you Jim Paulsgrove, Norman Jacks, and Jeff Baker for taking time out of your day to drive!

Thank you to the following people and places for their generous in-kind donations of food and beverages:

  • Hy-Vee
  • BIMBO Bakeries
  • Rhythm City Casino
  • McAlister’s Deli
  • Kim Nimrick Family

Not only was food donated so were all the amazing raffle items. All 80 of them! Thank you to everyone that donated them and/or helped get them all ready for the big day. Ann Cobb, Juanita Ghere, and Kathy Kuhnen you were the raffle queens this year!

Thank you to the many volunteers that helped prepare the week before the event, at the event, and the Monday following. We could never do it all without you. If we tried to list everyone, we would miss someone for sure but want to give a special shout-out to a few that went above and beyond! They showed up multiple times to help and/or took charge of specific areas to ensure things ran smoothly.

  • Sue & Mike Swegle
  • Kathy Hall
  • Ann Weeks
  • Carla Oliver
  • Brian Lynch
  • Cassie Britt
  • Xavier Utley
  • Rachel & Kiera Weaver
  • Amanda Cook (shirt design)
  • Lisa O’Connor (kids dash)
  • John Grice (lead bike)
  • Dawn & Korryn Taghon (turn around guides)
  • Rhythm City Casino -Winning Hands Volunteer Committee (water stops)

Thank you to the photographers from Infinity Photography and TSS Depoorter for being there. We can’t wait to see the memories that you captured. In the meantime, we have over 300 photos taken by others that can be seen here. 📷

🎥Check out this amazing recap video created by one of our summer interns!

Last but not least thanks to the following for their time and efforts!

  • Josh Sherrod from River Bend Productions (announcer)
  • End Results Timing Company (5K Timing)
  • Fleet Feet (archway, bags, and promotion)
  • Primetime Apparel and Promotions (printing signs and shirts)

Working with these people/businesses is truly a blessing.

While this event is a fundraiser to raise crucial funds for the playhouse, the free programs we offer, and to raise awareness for the need for acceptance; it is so much more than that! It is also a chance to “Discover what makes a hero!” and we’ve discovered that all of YOU are heroes.

YOU make a difference in our playhouse, the community, and the lives of our participants!

If your name was not mentioned please know that we truly do appreciate each and every one of you but we’d be here all day if we listed the many people that make this event happen. Thank YOU!

On behalf of everyone at GiGi’s, we thank you!

GiGi’s Board Members: Chad Johnson, Kim Nimrick, Kathy Kuhnen, Jenny Juehring,  

Brett Seitz, Nathan Kessler, Kevin Carlson, Anna Carmichael,  

Kitty McSparin, Abbey Pocklington, Kate Holsen, and Michael Morley

Staff: Pam Lynch & Ann Cobb

Recent Posts

20240207_151409

Celebrate reading and literacy!

While March is almost over, we wanted to share that March is National Reading Month in honor of Dr. Seuss’s Birthday! What a great reason...
409054294_883474347121495_501028282848601111_n

#10 – Meet the Rockstar Leaders

We've made it to day 10 of this rockstar series! Thank you for sticking with us and learning more about the individuals who participated in...
20240227_132400

Rockstar #9 – Meet Darrian

There's only 1 more day in our 10 day blog series. Tomorrow we will highlight the rockstar leaders and volunteers that made the GiGi Prep...

Leave a Comment