Posts by sbonetti

Meet Landon! He is 15 years old, and his favorite program at GiGi’s is Teentastic! He participates in marching band and football at his school. His mom says, “Landon continues to live out his dreams~playing on his high school football team is one of them! Huge thanks to his amazing coaches and teammates for going…

A handful of our GiGi U students got the opportunity to participate in a 7-week-long program at Perks Family Equine Center this summer, and it was simply AMAZING! Each week featured a different topic and lesson: Respect, Trust, Leadership, Confidence, Care, Responsibility, and of course, an end-of-session celebration! Working right alongside ponies and horses, our…

Meet Bailey! Her favorite programs are GiGi U, GiGiFIT, and Friday Friends. Some of Bailey’s favorite things are the color pink, Paris, spending time with her mom, and listening to music. Bailey’s dream is to become a Paris fashion designer and visit the Eiffel Tower one day! She is so kind and helpful, loves to clean…

Henry, one of our Speech Language Pathology interns from NIU, was recently working with Playhouse participant, Elijah. Elijah was having a hard time getting focused…so Henry pulled out a secret weapon that he had gleaned from their last session together. He asked Elijah how much he liked pizza. Elijah didn’t answer, but he looked right up at Henry and held his gaze. He officially…

Meet Maelee! She is 10 years old and has two siblings. She has participated in holiday parties in the past, but she has been enjoying our new Amina Grace Speech and Language program that started last month, and also recently joined literacy tutoring. Maelee loves to play, she is very imaginative and creative and has such a…

At GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford, our programming is tailored to meet the needs and challenges of the individuals we serve. By design, that means that most of our programs are created to serve a certain age group. So, MOST of the time, our participants (and their families, by default) interact largely with other participants of a…

At GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford, the staff and volunteers spend a great deal of time planning, organizing, and implementing programs for our participants, as well as fundraisers to generate the income needed to provide those programs and services at no cost to Playhouse families. The process is labor intensive, detail oriented, and frequently stressful. Like a…

Meet Nate! He is 24 years old and his favorite programs are GiGi U and Portal Theatre. Nate is so helpful, well-mannered, and kind. He loves hanging out with his friends, family, and girlfriend. He also loves collecting Hot Wheels, watching movies (specifically with his favorite actor, Zac Efron), and listening to music. His laugh is contagious, and his…

To cap off Volunteer Appreciation Month, we want to keep it simple and just say THANK YOU. We cannot express how grateful we are for our dedicated volunteers and support from our community. Every effort, no matter how small, has helped move our mission forward. GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford would not be what it is today…

Meet Andrea! She just turned 28 in February, and her favorite programs are GiGi Prep and GiGi’s Kitchen. She loves getting to hang out with her friends at the Playhouse. Some of her favorite things are shopping, spending time with her family, and watching scary movies. Her family has lots of parties, which she loves – cake, presents,…