{"id":19172,"date":"2021-01-11T14:06:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T20:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/?p=19172"},"modified":"2021-01-11T14:06:21","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T20:06:21","slug":"gigis-blog-best-of-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/celebration\/gigis-blog-best-of-all","title":{"rendered":"December 2020 Best of All!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Each month we look back on the previous month and choose 3 stories to share with our board and the national office.<\/p>\n<p>We also highlight many of them on the Best of All Wall here at the Playhouse!<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a look back on December 2020.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Participant Best of All:<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/File_002.jpeg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19174 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/File_002-225x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"366\" height=\"488\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/File_002-225x300.jpeg 225w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/File_002.jpeg 303w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">For the month of December, we have chosen to spotlight our participant Vada! At the Christmas event 2018<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">, Vada was nervous about meeting Santa. She stood back and observed all of her friends interact with\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">him first<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">When i<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">t was time to leave, Vada was brave and said goodbye to Santa.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">\u00a0Then 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\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">first\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">observed as Santa spoke with another f<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">amily about their Christmas wishes.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Only a few minutes passed before Vada was wanting to visit with Santa! She<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">had made him a<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">\u00a0Santa art piece<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\"> and signed it and happily shared it with him once she was ready. <\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Way to go Vada!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW70950154 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19176 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"383\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2020\/12\/ana-1.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 383px) 100vw, 383px\" \/><\/a>Volunteer Spotlight:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Our volunteer spotlight this month shines on Miss Ana! <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">A<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">na has been volunteering with\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">GiGi\u2019s<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">\u00a0Playhouse Quad Cities\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">since April of 2019<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">,<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\"> leading the Teen <\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Tastic<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">\u00a0and Fantastic Friends program.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">Ana is a wonderful asset to our Playhouse<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">. She is an enthusiastic, positive, and personable volunteer- making sure to get to know all the participan<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">ts individually!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">She\u2019s even showed off her adorable dog during virtual program<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">ming<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">, which inspires everyone else to show off their pets<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">!\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">It\u2019s always a blast with her.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">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.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">T<\/span><\/span><span class=\"TextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-parastyle=\"No Spacing\">hank you for all you do, Miss Ana!<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW33533001 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pl<a href=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2021\/01\/united.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-19194 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2021\/01\/united-300x94.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"387\" height=\"121\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2021\/01\/united-300x94.png 300w, https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/files\/2021\/01\/united.png 401w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 387px) 100vw, 387px\" \/><\/a>ayhouse Inspiration (Donor, Outreach, Event, etc.):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We recently received a gracious donation of $5<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">000 from United HealthCare Inc in December<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">! They are now\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">an<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">official<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">sponsor<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u00a0<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">for the 2021 GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge taking place on June 6th!! While this is a national event, you&#8217;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!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Thank you United Healthcare for being the first sponsor for this event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;s a look back on December 2020. Participant Best of All: For the month of December, we&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":19173,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2190,2199,2187],"tags":[71,2205,306,11,192,9],"class_list":["post-19172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gigis-blog","category-best-of-all","category-celebration","tag-bestofall","tag-gfac","tag-best-of-all","tag-down-syndrome-awareness","tag-gigis-blog","tag-gigis-playhouse-quad-cities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19172"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19172\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/quadcities\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}