Bigger. Better. Stronger Together

I love to visit schools to present to them the opportunity to open their hearts and minds and fall in love with GiGi’s Playhouse Rockford. This past November, i was invited to speak at one our participant’s, Khali, school. It is a grade school for 4th and 5th graders. I planned on presenting my power point presentation and then have Khali say a few things as to why she loves GiGi’s. Having Khali standing with me for the whole presentation was pretty cool. She stood next to me with confidence and the sweetest smile. She waited patiently while I spoke. During my presentation, I express the importance of how we are more alike than different. I asked questions like “how many of you play soccer?” I then respond with “well, people with Down syndrome play soccer too”. I will also ask “how many of your read” and again I respond with “well, people with Down syndrome read too”. It is a great way to interact with the kids. It gets them thinking. Finally, it is Khali’s turn to speak. I bend down to ask her “what is your favorite thing to do when you come to GiGi’s?” Khali responds with “Cheer Gems”. I ask many other questions of Khali and she answers them all with confidence and pride.

I end the school presentation with a question and answer time. Many hands go up and questions are being asked. I answer them all. But the last question was the best question because of the result that happened when I was cleaning up from the presentation. A 5th grade boy asked me, “where do you get your money for GiGi’s?” What a great question! I responded, “in order to keep all our programs FREE to every participant, we have to rely on donations, grants and sponsorships” Now, I am not sure if all the students understood what I said, but I felt it was good for them to hear it.

The kids were filing out of the gym and I was cleaning up from the presentation. The students were gathered around Khali and telling her what a great job she had done and patting her on her back. It was so encouraging to see her classmates give her so much praise. Then, one little girl came up to me with her hands in her pocket and she was talking to me in a very soft spoken voice. I bent down to hear what she was saying, this is what I heard “I think GiGi’s is cool and I want you to have this” she pulls out a one dollar bill from her pocket and hands it me. I stood there stunned. She looked at me and smiled and then off she went skipping to catch up to her classmates that were leaving the gym.

By giving all you have truly makes you feel good on the inside. Having Khali speak in front of hundreds of her peers is inspirational! To have a community that BELIEVES is changing the world’s perception of people with Down syndrome. Bigger. Better. Stronger together!

Khali & Paula just before the school presentation.