Taking it to the Streets: Phoenix Playhouse Launches ‘GiGi’s on the Go’
At GiGi’s, our Playhouses are like sanctuaries. Inside our walls, we offer our participants and their families more than FREE programming – we offer love, support, and acceptance. Our 60+ Playhouses are safe havens for individuals with Down syndrome and their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, volunteers, and the entire community....
August 2024 Newsletter
FREE PROGRAMS 60 LOCATIONS GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE A Word from the Chief Belief Officer - Nancy Gianni Hello GiGi's Change Makers! This Sunday, after we returned home from the opening of our 60th GiGi's location in Simi Valley, CA, I was riding a high. Then I received a heartbreaking text from...
The 60th Playhouse: GiGi’s Playhouse – Simi Valley Opens its Doors
It started as a dream. Four years ago, three months into a global pandemic, Kirsten Riddick and Cara Armstrong, two mothers of children with Down syndrome, came together. Their idea was simple: create a social group for their children with Down syndrome, ideally close to their homes in Simi Valley,...
GiGi’s Playhouse Set to Open Landmark 60th Location in Simi Valley
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 12, 2024 (Simi Valley, CA) — It’s a ribbon cutting 21 years in the making. GiGi’s Playhouse, the only network of Down Syndrome Achievement Centers, is thrilled to announce the Grand Opening of its newest Playhouse in Simi Valley, CA, on Saturday, August 17. The Simi...
GOING FOR GOLD – World’s Fastest Man’s Message Relevant to Individuals with DS
If you tuned into the Olympics on Sunday, you witnessed something that directly relates to the mission of GiGi’s Playhouse. ...Yes, you read that right. Though we are Down Syndrome Achievement Centers, and we absolutely love the Special Olympics, the plight and obstacles individuals with Down syndrome face aren’t simply...
The Power of a Playhouse
Nervous glances. Long stares. Muffled laughter. When people with disabilities, especially those with Down syndrome, enter public spaces, they’re often greeted with a mixed reception. Whether it’s at a school, restaurant, or grocery store, many members of the neurotypical population aren’t used to seeing individuals with disabilities, and because...
GiGi’s Playhouse – Fort Wayne is Serving up Lemonade (and Acceptance)!
At GiGi’s, our Playhouses offer purposeful, FREE programs that change our participants' lives. We also offer programs designed to take our participants outside of our Playhouse walls and into their communities. These programs don’t just help our participants; they help community members with no ties to Down syndrome gain exposure,...
July 2024 Newsletter
FREE PROGRAMS 59 LOCATIONS GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE A Word from the Chief Belief Officer - Nancy Gianni Hello, GiGi's Change Makers! IT'S OFFICIAL: we're opening our 60th Playhouse! It's been over 21 years since our very first GiGi's Playhouse location opened its doors and 59 locations later, we're still growing! I'm...
Teeing it High and Letting it Fly: National/Hoffman Estates Playhouse partners with Inverness Golf Club
At GiGi’s, our Playhouses offer purposeful, FREE programs that change our participants' lives. We also offer programs designed to take our participants outside of our Playhouse walls and into their communities. These programs don’t just help our participants; they help community members with no ties to Down syndrome gain exposure,...
MYTHBUSTING: Can People with Down syndrome drink alcohol?
(“Myth-busting” is a new multi-part blog series where we tackle all things Down syndrome: misconceptions, half-truths, and fabrications. We’re setting the record straight, once and for all.) Can People with Down syndrome drink alcohol? Age is a tricky thing. Sure, in polite society, it’s often considered rude to ask someone’s...
June 2024 Newsletter
FREE PROGRAMS 59 LOCATIONS GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE A Word from the CBO - Nancy Gianni Hello, GiGi's Change Makers! WE DID IT!!! We've long known Alzheimer's is the No. 1 killer of individuals with Down syndrome, but despite this, people with DS have been shut out of EVERY Alzheimer's study... until...
GiGi’s Kitchen is Serving up Independence
And we’re doing it with help from a generous donor At GiGi’s Playhouse, we don’t lack ambition. Our mission is not only to change how the world views Down syndrome, but also to completely change the world, making it more accepting for EVERYONE! It’s a big job. One we work...