One Mom’s Perspective

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 bride planning her wedding, we see all the steps that go into staging programs and big events, and we focus a lot of energy on the little details. As a result, we sometimes miss the opportunity to see the finished product as a “whole.” We were grateful when a Playhouse mom recently posted something on social media that allowed us to see the work of the Playhouse through different eyes. Check out our blog to see the Playhouse from her perspective…

The GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge was today! People showed up in force! Some ran, some walked, and some who could not be present still generously donated to help keep the doors of GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford open for another year of serving individuals with Down syndrome. Thank you!

I can’t say enough about Karen, Stacey and Kyra, the small but mighty superhero staff whose hard and thoughtful work make this amazing place a welcoming, safe, fun and educational space for kids of all ages like mine. Thank you as well to Penny and Hal, the amazing visionaries who imagined a Playhouse for Rockford, and to the board of directors who work to keep it on track and moving forward.

To those businesses who choose to sponsor these Playhouse events, donate their time, and financially support GiGi’s throughout the year — may God bless you!!!

I, and so many others, deeply appreciate your willingness to support GiGi’s!

Then there are the volunteers. You should meet them! Some have a relative that attends GiGi’s, and some don’t. Then there are people like Yvonne, who works full-time, serves at her church, and still manages to bring 3-5 participants to Friday Friends each month. If that’s not enough, she also takes all the pictures for us at Friday Friends that GiGi’s staff uses for social media posts! Yvonne taught Josh over 40 years ago in Sunday School when he was a toddler and she’s STILL showing up to make a difference!

Oh, and let me tell you about the medical students from UIC, all the retired but still inspired volunteers, and all those who work full-time and still take time out of their busy work and family lives to serve here in the various programs and in anyway they are needed.

I am so inspired by them. These are the people you want to serve with, the people you want to know, the people you want to emulate. They are incredible! If you asked the staff or the volunteers how they felt about their experience at GiGi’s, they would quickly tell you that they receive more than they give. That’s just who they are!

So, back to the GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge. BECAUSE of all the volunteers who work so hard; BECAUSE of all the sponsors who believe in GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford; and BECAUSE of all the donors who regularly support the mission to make the world a better place for individuals with Down syndrome, IT WAS SPECIAL.

Josh called it HIS special day – and it truly was. It was Josh, through and through.

It was totally special for him – and it was special for his friends, and for you, and for me, and for all who call GiGi’s “Our Playhouse.”

It was a good day!