A Volunteer’s Determination, Love, and Commitment

Carol Altomare, our incredible GiGi’s Kitchen Program Leader, always goes above and beyond. During the dark days of the Pandemic, Carol and her daughter, Christine, embarked on realizing our dream – creating a GiGi’s Kitchen Cookbook. The pair spent the next three years organizing, planning, and photographing the group’s favorite recipes. Carol was motivated by…

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Being Part of This Family

As the holiday season starts, I reflect on my one-year anniversary at GiGi’s Playhouse. I am grateful for the connections made and the valuable experiences I have gained from each of you. And I have learned so much!  Some of you may know that my first encounter with GiGi’s was as a literacy tutor several…

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GiGi’s, Friends, Connect, and Family

Each month, we host a family group on the first Saturday at 10:00 am. All families are welcome, but we typically welcome families with children under the age of 6. The program is facilitated by two experienced program leaders who encourage discussions, sharing of experiences, and networking while high school or middle school volunteers play…

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Introducing – Westchester’s Generation G Youth Board

We love our volunteers! Earlier this year, a sibling of one of our participants approached us and asked if she could start a Youth Board at our Playhouse. Mira was very passionate and quickly recruited her friends to join her. We reached out to other local High Schools and now have 8 members from Hastings…

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Volunteer Spotlight – Kelly

“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 are beyond grateful for our amazing volunteers’ dedication, motivation, enthusiasm,…

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#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…

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Welcome 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…

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Volunteer 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.…

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