Looking at the World with New Eyes

Looking at The World with New Eyes

On my first day volunteering at GiGi’s Playhouse, I honestly didn’t really know what to expect. At the end of the day I had a warm feeling inside that I’d never quite felt before. Yet, I have this same feeling after every day at GiGi’s Playhouse.

All of these wonderful people that we work with have touched my heart in many ways that I would never have imagined.

There has never been a time when I have felt like I have been actually “volunteering” or working at GiGi’s. Instead, I feel like I am just hanging out with a bunch of friends. Along with volunteering, I have created numerous lasting friendships. Because of this, sometimes I do forget that they have special needs. Well, I mean… they’re our friends, so we don’t think of them like that. We see them as the person that they truly are. If anything, I think that they teach the world about kindness and acceptance more than I thought anyone ever could.

Along with this experience to work with these amazing people, I believe that GiGi’s Playhouse has changed me as a person. I have learnt so many lessons, one’s that I will use for the rest of my life. My family and I, we aren’t just there to teach, but we are also there to learn. I’ve learnt how to be patient, kind, thoughtful, not to judge a book by it’s cover, and that confidence and encouragement are little things that go a long way.

Whether I’m working with the adults in GiGi Prep, or the Teens in Summer Adventures, or the babies in LMNOP, I believe I always get something extraordinary out of a day at GiGi’s Playhouse, and I now look at the world through new eyes.
Our participants and their families say that as volunteers we have helped so much and that we have changed their lives.
Although, I think it is they who have changed our lives.

Eve Bamber, Age 13
GiGi’s Playhouse Volunteer