{"id":141812,"date":"2026-02-05T14:51:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:51:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/?p=141812"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:51:56","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T19:51:56","slug":"volunteer-spotlight-theresa-szuba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/uncategorized\/volunteer-spotlight-theresa-szuba","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Spotlight: Theresa Szuba"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Theresa Szuba is a devoted volunteer at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse whose impact can be felt throughout the organization. She has served as a Board member, led Kids Club, helped launch and lead\u00a0GiGiFIT\u00a0Teen, and has been a Teen\u00a0Tastic\u00a0leader for more than five years. Most recently, she joined the Family Engagement Committee.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Theresa is inspired by her daughter, Melissa, to volunteer, connect with others, and encourage families to\u00a0participate\u00a0or get involved. She believes deeply in the mission of GiGi\u2019s Playhouse and the sense of belonging it creates. \u201cWhen Melissa was born, there\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0a GiGi\u2019s Playhouse in Syracuse, and I remember what that felt like. I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want anyone to feel alone. I want them to know there is a whole community waiting to support them and understand what\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0going through.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Theresa\u2019s favorite parts of volunteering is watching participants, families, and volunteers build lasting relationships and seeing programs grow\u2014because when programs grow, the community grows. She especially loves welcoming volunteers into\u00a0the GiGi\u2019s\u00a0experience and watching them carry what they learn and feel at GiGi\u2019s out into the greater Syracuse community, creating positive change beyond the Playhouse.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of her most meaningful memories is helping a parent feel confident enough to drop off their teen at the zoo with Teen\u00a0Tastic. \u201cThe teen was a little nervous at one point, but the volunteers supported them, and it was very successful.\u201d Later, Theresa ran into the teen at a school event. \u201cThey came running up to me, gave me a big hug, and said, \u2018Hello, my friend!\u2019 It absolutely made my day and helped me understand the impact Gigi\u2019s has had in my life personally and can have in the wider Syracuse community, when we are all there to support one another.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For anyone considering becoming a volunteer at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse, Theresa has simple advice: \u201cDo it! GiGi\u2019s is a warm, joyful place filled with laughter, smiles, and meaningful connections. You will not regret it.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Theresa Szuba is a devoted volunteer at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse whose impact can be felt throughout the organization. She has served as a Board member, led Kids Club, helped launch and lead\u00a0GiGiFIT\u00a0Teen, and has been a Teen\u00a0Tastic\u00a0leader for more than five years. Most recently, she joined the Family Engagement Committee.\u00a0 Theresa is inspired by her daughter,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28492,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28492"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141812\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/syracuse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}