National Volunteer Month 2022: Volunteers are Paramount in Helping us Change the Way the World Views Down Syndrome

April is National Volunteer Month! As an organization that is 99% volunteer-run, GiGi’s Playhouse is grateful for the opportunity this month offers to acknowledge and thank the countless volunteers who have helped us empower the Down syndrome community and promote global acceptance of our friends living with an extra chromosome. “Through her [Jill Rabin], my…

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Make a difference and volunteer to be a tutor!

  Want to make an impact? Consider being a volunteer tutor! You can clearly see Shelby has gained confidence and skills in just one session of literacy and math tutoring! “I cannot thank GiGi’s enough for the tutoring! After 3 weeks of Literacy tutoring, Shelby just picked up books and started reading on her own!…

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5 Ways to Nurture Learning in Children with Down syndrome

Child smiling at camera

Check out these 5 ways to nurture a love of learning in children with Down syndrome. SPARK CURIOSITY Ask an open-ended question… then WAIT! Sometimes children with Down syndrome just need a little extra processing time. Interruptions or too many questions can be overwhelming. When you give them time to answer they can truly show you…

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GiGi’s Math Program Leads to Independence

Math 2.0 The GiGi’s Playhouse One-on-One Math tutoring program has been around for over 8 years!  We now have 24 locations offering math tutoring with an average of 275 enrollments per session.  That is approximately 1,000 students each year!  We recently had an amazing opportunity to review and renew this program, creating streamlined Purposeful Progressions,…

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Does anyone have a cassette player?

At the recent opening of our 38th GiGi’s Playhouse location in Tampa Florida, I was reminded and touched by the incredible love of siblings multiple times. First, in all of the siblings playing with their sibling with Down syndrome, helping them, laughing, sometimes fighting(have to keep it real) but always caring. Then by a woman…

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What kind of world do you want?

GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Centers empowers families with free therapeutic and educational programs they need for their child to succeed. From a prenatal diagnosis to career skills, we make a life time commitment to support more than 30,000 families across the United States, in Mexico, and throughout the world.   Recent reporting from “CBS On…

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We do not stop here…

October, Down Syndrome Acceptance Month,  is done but we do not stop here! It has been wonderful to look out at Playhouse’s across the nation and Mexico share facts, bust myths and inspire their communities on the truth Down syndrome. This quote form a Playhouse family has us all smiling very proud smiles!  “My eyes…

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A sister’s love

“Your brother has leukemia.” These are words no parent ever wants to say to their daughter and no words a sister ever wants to hear. Samantha Taus Talbot has lived that nightmare, twice.  Her story about Joshua is here:   “On August 23rd, 2001, my life changed forever when my youngest brother, Joshua Joseph Taus Talbot,…

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