Posts by Tracy Smith
#MyDSStory – Sibling Power!
During Down Syndrome Acceptance Month, we asked our families and community to share stories as part of a #myDSstory campaign. This submission is from an amazing sibling who is constantly changing the way the world views Down Syndrome! “My sister, Ali, who is fourteen months younger than me, is the most hard-working, resilient, and compassionate…
Read MoreSpring Literacy Project Series – Rejected Love Short Story
As our Spring 2022 session comes to a close, we are delighted to share some amazing Level 3 projects from our participants. In the first of a series, we would like to introduce you to Molly. Molly is 20 years old and is a regular participant at GiGi’s Playhouse Westchester. She attends or has attended…
Read MoreWelcome to GiGi’s Playhouse Westchester
We are thrilled to welcome Krystal Valera as our new Operations Coordinator. Krystal joined our Team at the beginning of April and has enjoyed meeting families this month both at the playhouse and virtually. Krystal resides in Yonkers, NY with her husband and two children. She earned her BA in Elementary Education. Krystal has worked…
Read MoreVolunteer Appreciation 2022
GiGi’s Playhouse Westchester loves our Volunteers! We cannot do what we do without the enthusiasm, dedication, generosity, and motivation of our outstanding volunteer team. Since 2021, we have welcomed 168 new volunteer applications to our Playhouse and we have a total of 112 active volunteers, many of who have been with us for some time.…
Read More2021 In Review
As 2021 ends, we look back at the challenges, successes, and accomplishments of this year! 2021 was another tough year, still dealing with the fluid nature of the Pandemic. Our planning consisted of many questions that we did not know the answers to. Can we reopen yet? Is it safe to welcome families back? How do we keep…
Read More‘Tis The Season For Giving
Please consider supporting us on Giving Tuesday (November 30th), which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Giving Tuesday is ‘a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” We are continually grateful to all our volunteers, donors, and supporters for making a positive and transformational impact on…
Read MoreSelf Advocate, Dancing And Celebrations!
Every year at our Gala we choose an amazing self-advocate to speak and spread words of inspiration to our community. Our 2020- 2021 Self Advocate is Samantha, she began attending GiGi’s Playhouse when she was 13 and soon became a consistent member of our programs, specifically Teen Tastic. Samantha soon increased the number of programs she…
Read MorePopsicle Courses and Best Of All’s This Summer!
This Summer, we had the pleasure of welcoming an Occupational Therapy Graduate Student from Iona College – Hannah. As part of her Fieldwork course, she tutored four students, introduced our first fully in-person program, and created a Parent Workshop Series focusing on different topics such as emotional regulation, self-care, and technology. Hannah has been…
Read MoreVolunteer Appreciation Month
Volunteer Appreciation Month As we wrap up our Volunteer Appreciation Month, we want to highlight even more volunteers that have stood out this month. April may be the month that we show our appreciation, but we never stop being thankful for our dedicated, generous, motivated, enthusiastic volunteer team that grows each month! Volunteer Facts: We…
Read MoreHelp Us To Celebrate Our Volunteers!
“Volunteering is an act of heroism on a grand scale. And it matters profoundly. It does more than help people beat the odds; it changes the odds.” – William J. Clinton GiGi’s Playhouse is 99% volunteer-led. As an organization, we are extremely proud of this. We cannot do what we do without the dedication, motivation, enthusiasm,…
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