Maple Elementary School raises money for GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford

For the whole school year, 2014-2015, the students and staff at Maple Elementary School in Loves Park,IL worked together to raise money for GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford. The students and families of the school were not only raising dollars for GiGi’s but raised awareness within themselves. It was a great experience for all. Below are a few letters that students from the school wrote.

“Too many children are diagnosed with some sort of disability or disease. Having been able to help out my community and these special children has made me feel like I have the power to make a difference. We all have that power. GiGi’s Playhouse truly is an amazing place where kids with Down syndrome can learn and grow. Down syndrome is not an illness it is a disability, but as far as we know disability means possibility. I have learned so much through this experience, one particular thing I learned is that what makes you different makes you beautiful. People with Down syndrome should never have to be ashamed because they were born with an extra chromosome for all we know we might be the ones missing one. I hope to again be able to do a community service project because of the help I am able to give to others. I want to thank all the Maple families and DNA concessions for all the donations made because without you we wouldn’t have been able to get where are today. I also want to thank GiGi’s Playhouse for what you for community and the kids with Down syndrome.Even through all the chaos this experience was riveting and fun. And even though it might not seem like much it might be everything to these extraordinary children. I learned one more thing through this experience and this is never underestimate your ability to make someone else’s life better because what you choose to do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”                                                                Maple 5th Grader

“Raising money for GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford was a very nice way that Mrs. Allens’s and Mrs. Vincer’s classes helped the community. GiGi’s Playhouse is a place where children and adults with Down syndrome can go, so we raised the money for a good cause. Raising money for GiGi’s fun, all the while we were doing it to help the community. Form this experience, I learned that helping our community could mean a lot to the people you are helping. I also learned that when you help your community, you could be making a difference in someone’s life. Thank you to all of the Maple School families who supported us in our fundraisers for GiGi’s Playhouse. We would not have raised the money that we raised without our families who participated in the events. I hope that everyone keeps finding ways to benefit the community. Helping your community ins’t hard, it’s just making the world a better place.”                                        Maple 5th Grader