Posts by sbonetti

At our “i have a voice” Gala last weekend, GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford was honored to present the distinguished “Inspire Award” to a couple who has built a legacy of love in our community. The Inspire Award is given to someone who inspires awareness and, through his/her actions, brings about positive change related to Down syndrome. …

Meet Briggs! He is 18 months old and has been coming to the Playhouse since he was just 8 months old! His favorite programs are LMNOP and the Amina Grace Speech and Language Program. His family participated in our GiGiFit Acceptance Challenge 5k fundraiser last spring in honor of his first birthday and brought a…

Our GiGiFit program leads Laurie and Emma Nelson came to us with some OUTSTANDING best of all stories!  They were excited to give shout outs to every participant that has made incredible strides, and so are we!  While we wish we could be a part of every program as Playhouse staff, there are simply not…

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…