Leading the Way…Ashley Mahon
Here at GiGi's Playhouse Rockford, we are constantly blown away by our amazing GiGi Prep, GiGi U, and GiGi Professional students. With 22 participants enrolled in our Career Development Programs, it's easy to look around and be truly inspired by the dedication and hard work happening all around us. These...
Theatre Mania
When you think of skills beneficial for individuals with Down syndrome to practice, many things come to mind, but some stick out more than others. Gross motor skills, speech skills, reading, and creative expression, to name a few. All of those skills happen to be components of our Portal Performing...
Through a Sister’s Eyes
THROUGH THEIR EYES... Recently, we were having a conversation about some phenomenal young women who volunteer at GiGi's Playhouse Rockford who all happen to be sisters of Playhouse participants. We realized that each of these young ladies basically grew up WITH the Playhouse, and we thought it would be interesting...
Changing It Up
Changing It Up a Bit… In general, routines are a good thing. They establish expectations that help us move through our day and stay on track with the tasks we need to accomplish each day. They serve as an internal clock that reminds us of what we need to do...
Imagination Is A Gift
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “The greatest gift you can give a child is imagination,” and here at GiGi's Playhouse Rockford, we could not agree more. The benefits of imaginative play are well documented. Individuals with Down syndrome, who most likely struggle with social, emotional, and language development, are sure to benefit from...
Internship Success Stories
In our GiGi Professional Spring Session, five outstanding students embarked on field internships at YMCA’s Camp Winnebago and various Beef-a-Roo locations throughout Rockford. These field internships play an exceedingly important role for our students to gain experience and knowledge in the workforce and lend a helping hand to our community partnerships. GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford...
“Art Explosion Imitates Life”
Most of us have probably heard the expression, “A case of life imitating art.” Well, last month at GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford, art imitated life. Our Art Explosion class is led by Wendy Palumino, who is a very creative person. With World Down Syndrome Day approaching, she was inspired to help...
THROUGH THE EYES OF A PLAYHOUSE INTERN – by Katie Carlson
Internships are a bit of an “unknown quantity” – you never know exactly what you are going to get. When I started my internship with GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford four months ago, I suspected that I would really enjoy it. What I didn’t know is that I would end up falling...
GiGi’s Community Partnerships Fuel the Playhouse!
The North Park Fire Protection District recently approached the Rockford Playhouse with an awesome idea to take a trip to the fire station for lunch, but this was not your average field trip. Instead, our GiGi U students got to ride to and from the station in the fire engines! The engines,...
Down Syndrome Acceptance Month
Today is officially the end of Down Syndrome Awareness Acceptance Month. We have had such a great time introducing everyone to 30 of our amazing participants through our daily “Spotlights” on our Facebook page. Our specific intention over the last 30 days was to inspire people to look beyond the...
GiGi’s History
Did you know? Now you know! My 6-year-old son, Franco, created our first logo! We started as a Down Syndrome Awareness Center and our tagline was Educate Inspire Achieve. Though, whenever I spoke about the Playhouses I always added the word Believe to our tag line too! As time went...
Step To Accept FAQs
Here are answers to some of the questions we have been receiving about our Step To Accept Challenge. What is the Step to Accept Challenge? First and foremost, this is a virtual FUNDRAISER for GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford. With the cancellation of most of our fundraisers for 2020 due to COVID-19,...