“I call my role with Teentastic “the best gig in town!”- Julie, Teen Tastic leader

“Aside from being my now 21yo son’s kindergarten co-room parent, I had never volunteered for anything. Now that Mia was a teen, I felt that volunteering at GiGi’s would be a great way for me to give back to the Triangle Down Syndrome community for all the support they had given to us since we moved to the area in 2009 and to be a guide for parents of younger children.

I was completely unprepared to be a program lead but I’m so glad I put my fears aside. The rewards far outweigh the small time commitment. Working within the same program every month really allows you to form deeper bonds, see the individual in all participants, and watch them blossom and grow with and because of each other. Some of my favorite moments have been seeing a teen who barely speaks come out of her shell and participate in a group discussion or one who sat in the doorway observing the first week, come and sit with us for an entire activity. One young man told me after a session how happy it made him and he gave me a big hug.

I literally could not do this program without the help of my husband, Carlo. He gets there early, sets up(brings Mia because I can’t!) interacts with the kids while I set things up, and cleans up the playhouse at the end. I think it has been especially good for the participants to have a male mentor and role model. So many teachers and therapists etc in their lives are women. He cracks jokes with them, arm wrestles with them, calls them out if they are inappropriate or out of bounds (these are teens!!) and the kids really respond well to him. He keeps both the literal and figurative order. He also brings Mia to other programs and she always looks forward to going to GiGi’s! I call my role with Teentastic “the best gig in town!”