Posts by Marissa Chavez

Dancing Queen Isabella Dance is one of those things that we don’t necessarily think is an exercise because it can be so fun and encourages so much movement. It is one of the activities many of our participants enjoy! One of those participants, Isabella who is 12, enjoys the art of dancing and has that…

Building a meaningful community one station at a time! A huge shout out Kacey McKinnon at KUSI for being our local news reporter assisting GiGi’s Playhouse San Diego in raising awareness and Acceptance for all during October Down Syndrome Awareness month. As you can see our Ambassador Clark has made that connection and has been…

Meet our wonderful LMNOP Lead Nancy Not all volunteers show there true talents until put into action. We can certainly say that about our Lead LMNOP volunteer Nancy. Since her start in September 2022, Nancy a quiet yet amazing individual has graced us with her calm demeanor and knack for livening up the LMNOP sessions.…

Participants Spotlight You often hear about how GiGi’s Playhouse is a place of acceptance, growth and inclusion, well this truly a great story of that. Meet the outgoing GiGi’s Playhouse San Diego participants, Enzo and Keenan. This duo met at La Jolla High then got reacquainted while navigating their time through the San Diego Unified…

Marissa Chavez, GiGi’s Playhouse San Diego – My DS Story Thinking back to over a year ago, I would have never thought I’d be serving folks with Down syndrome in the manner I do now but I am certainly happy for this opportunity and all the wonderful experiences along the way. I firmly believe in…

Dynamic Tutoring Duo Featuring Esther and Celeste We often see and hear great things going on in the Playhouse especially during the Math and Literacy Tutor/Tutee season. Esther and Celeste have certainly developed that special bond during their Literacy Tutoring sessions. Esther has been coming to GiGi’s Playhouse San Diego since her crawling days where…

Youth Board Volunteer Solei Have you ever wonder what its like to be a volunteer at GiGi’s Playhouse San Diego from a youth’s standpoint? Well we have a that right here for you. Welcome to our awesome Youth Board Volunteer Solei! She’s such a power house! Solei has been volunteering with us since early 2022…

Shepard aka Shep, has been coming to the Playhouse since 2018 when he was about 2 years old, participating in LMNOP, Crawlers & Walkers, Music Therapy, Kids Club, and Playhouse Pals. Just this year, Shep started Literacy Tutoring with Mrs. Jeri. Shep is very energetic and lively during sessions, where office staff can often times…

GiGi’s Kitchen Gives Back During Volunteer Appreciation Our first ever GiGi’s Kitchen gives back was a huge success! Over this last GiGi’s Kitchen session, the participants got to put their hard earned skills into action. Earlier in the session they learned how to garden simple lettuce, kale and beets in the community garden provided by…