GiGi’s Playhouse – Fort Wayne is Serving up Lemonade (and Acceptance)! 

At GiGi’s, our Playhouses offer purposeful, FREE programs that change our participants’ lives. We also offer programs designed to take our participants outside of our Playhouse walls and into their communities.  

These programs don’t just help our participants; they help community members with no ties to Down syndrome gain exposure, interact, and build meaningful relationships with people of ALL abilities. To put it simply, these programs build acceptance.  

This is part of a multi-part blog series highlighting how local Playhouses are partnering with organizations in their communities to build and promote inclusion. 

GiGi’s Playhouse – Fort Wayne is Serving up Lemonade (and Acceptance)! 

In today’s world, everything is fragmented.  

Long gone are the days when people were forced to watch one of three broadcast channels. People have options. YouTube channels, streaming services, TikTok lives – there are millions of offerings when it comes to entertainment. 

As convenient as this is, it can lead to a loss of common interest among groups of people. In a world where people have infinite options at their fingertips, it becomes increasingly hard to have common cultural touchstones that bring us all together. 

That’s where sports come into play. 

Sporting events are one of the few live events that still provide opportunities for people to come together. Individuals from all walks of life unite inside a stadium, all sharing the same goal: to root their chosen team on to victory.  

Simply put, sports bring people together. 

GiGi’s Playhouse – Fort Wayne has witnessed this first-hand. Our Fort Wayne Playhouse has teamed up with their local semi-pro club, Fort Wayne Football Club (Fort Wayne FC), to serve up lemonade to thirsty fans! 

Fort Wayne FC created a custom-built lemonade concession stand inside their stadium for our Fort Wayne Playhouse’s participants and families to work during the club’s home games. This lemonade stand also serves as fundraiser for GiGi’s Playhouse – Fort Wayne, as all proceeds go directly back to the Playhouse. 

Laurie, Director of Club Operations for Forty Wayne FC, came up with the idea of the lemonade stand as a fundraiser. Laurie’s husband then built the lemonade stand with the height of the Playhouse’s participants in mind. Featuring lemon lights, lemon placemats, a banner, and lemon bucket hats, the lemonade stand STANDS out among all the other concession options. On top of that, all the items have been donated. 

In addition to serving as a great fundraiser for our Forty Wayne Playhouse, the lemonade stand gives our participants practice and with customer service, handling money, and interacting with people outside of the GiGi’s community! 

But this lemonade isn’t just helping our Fort Wayne Playhouse… it’s helping the entire community. 

People from all walks of life, who have no ties or experience with Down syndrome, attend sporting events. Having these members of the community gain exposure and interact with individuals with Down syndrome, helps build a bridge to inclusivity. 

Fort Wayne FC’s home games have been a prime example of this. Soccer fans who previously had no knowledge of GiGi’s Playhouse have come up to the lemonade concession and had meaningful conversations with our participants and families.  

It’s these conversations that facilitate understanding and help create a more ACCEPTING world, not just for people with Down syndrome, but also people of ALL abilities! 

We’re so proud of our Fort Wayne Playhouse’s participants and families for venturing out into their community and working to create acceptance. But they’re not doing it alone. We’re beyond grateful to Fort Wayne FC for partnering with our Fort Wayne Playhouse and bringing our participants and their families into the community in a meaningful way!  

In the end, Fort Wayne FC’s lemonade stand isn’t just serving lemonade… it’s bringing an entire community together. 

Learn more about our Fort Wayne location here.