Freely changing lives by giving their time!

The definition of a volunteer is “a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.” Yes, you read that right; FREELY offers to take part in a task. A volunteer gives up their time, energy, and so many other priceless parts of themselves to help a cause. GiGi’s is a 99% Volunteer run organization which...

I learned the importance of acceptance, love, kindness, and joy through every encounter!

I am so grateful for my time working at GiGi’s Playhouse in Raleigh this summer. I learned the importance of acceptance, love, kindness, and joy through every encounter. I also got to see the behind-the-scenes of program creation and implementation. I had the opportunity to help with the Gratitude Committee,...

Why Community Support Matters <3

When I was 23 years old and fresh out of college, I became a Developmental Therapist. My job entailed going to different daycares and people’s homes in the Raleigh area and helping children, ages birth-3 years old, to meet their developmental milestones. There was so much joy in getting to support parents on their journey of helping their children take...

“Working with GiGi’s Amina Grace Speech & Language Program has been amazing”

The most enjoyable part about volunteering at GiGis is working with my clients. To see how hard they work and improve is an extremely rewarding feeling. I’m glad they have a place like GiGi’s Playhouse to help them excel! ~ Joyah M Working with GiGi’s Amina Grace Speech & Language...

The Gen G youth board is a unique group of people because we all came together with the same goal in mind, acceptance.

After volunteering at GiGi's playhouse on my own for a year, it was wonderful to join the Gen G youth board and be surrounded by a group of teens who loved GiGi's as much as I did. From the youth board, I learned more about the Generation G movement which...

Welcome, Summer 2021 Intern Blair King

Hey y’all! My name is Blair King, and I am a junior at Elon University. I am currently studying Exercise Science with hopes of becoming an Occupational Therapist. I am originally from Raleigh, NC and am the youngest of three. I am so excited to get more involved with the...

Being a part of GiGi’s first as a sibling provided me with a unique perspective in all of the jobs I was given during my internship.

My family and I have been a part of the GiGi's Playhouse family since I was in middle school when we were first introduced to the amazing work they were doing for individuals with Down syndrome. We were more than thrilled to start bringing my younger sister Meredith, who has...

My Virtual Literacy Tutoring Experience…

BLOG POST WRITTEN BY: Adasyn Neuwirth, GiGi's Raleigh Intern (Spring 2021) My time spent in the learning lab this semester was a time of growth for both me and my participant. I had the pleasure of working with the warm and smiley Andrew, and his wonderful caretaker, Miss Joy for...

“Thank you for allowing us to feel normal again! We love you all…thank you for your steadfast commitment to participants.”

The Covid-19 Pandemic has been difficult for us all, especially our friends who are high risk. As we have opened our doors again, it is amazing to see the happiness and joy in our friends when they are able to come to The Playhouse and be together again. GiGi’s has...

Shine yoga, llc believes that you should always let your inner light shine brightly and that yoga is for everybody.

VIRTUAL YOGA IN 2021: excerpt below from Diana Taggart, E-RYT 200, YACEP We’re back! Shine yoga, llc thrilled to be offering VIRTUAL Teen Yoga (ages 10-17yr) and VIRTUAL Adult Yoga (ages 18yr+) classes online with GiGi’s Playhouse Raleigh once again. As some of you may know, I took some time...

This Pen Pal program is not just about sending letters back and forth but creating long lasting friendships…

SNAIL MAIL PALS: In today’s fast paced technological world, when we think of communicating with friends we think of texting, tweeting, snapchating or DMing them; snail mail is slowly becoming obsolete but through GiGi's PenPal program, two friends were brought closer then ever! Covid-19 has made it so hard to...

“When I answered the phone, I will never forget what she said.”

When I left teaching special education to start Able Transition, I was excited, scared, grateful and fearful. The tension of all of these emotions were very real. I knew quality life-long transition planning needed to happen. But I was afraid of the what if's and how I would manage to...