June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month
Alzheimer’s is scary. We all know that. Though there’s so much awareness surrounding Alzheimer’s, there’s still many misconceptions about the disease. When people picture Alzheimer’s, the image of an elderly person comes to mind, but age is not the only link to Alzheimer’s. Far from it. Despite being excluded from...
It Takes a Village (Green): National Playhouse GFAC Wrap up!
Children were everywhere. It was 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 15 at NOW Arena/Village Green, and the competition was on! It was time for the Kids Dash for Down syndrome as part of our National/Hoffman Estates Playhouse’s GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge (GFAC). GFAC raises awareness to support challenges in the Down...
Belting Through Challenges: GiGi’s Moment of Resilience
If you blinked, you might have missed it. This past weekend, GiGi Gianni, the namesake of GiGi’s Playhouse, the only network of Down Syndrome Achievement Centers, hit the stage for Down Country, an Awareness to Acceptance Concert for individuals with Down syndrome. Before country stars Conner Smith, Cooper Alan, Joe...
Continued Learning for All with GiGi’s Summer Programming
The Summertime: often associated with sun, sand and so much fun, but also a time where those amazing educational milestones reached during the school year can take a turn towards regression. GiGi’s Playhouse programming can help with that!!!! Shared by GiGi's Playhouse El Paso Over the Summer, our network of...
May 2024 Newsletter
FREE PROGRAMS 59 LOCATIONS GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE Website|Volunteer|Support GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge: Bringing Acceptance to a Playhouse near you! The GiGiFIT Acceptance Challenge (GFAC) is in full swing! Happening across the country, GFAC is a fitness challenge that brings people together to raise awareness, acknowledge, and support the challenges in the DS...
GiGi’s Fitness Frontier
GiGi’s Playhouse advances with the latest research on Down syndrome health Research. Data. Medical studies. ...try not to yawn. We know all the above sounds a little boring (or a lot boring), but at GiGi’s, research and medical findings are imperative to what we do. Our programming is rooted in...
Cheryl’s story: Embracing a beautiful journey of motherhood
**This special Mother’s Day story was submitted via #MyDsStory Written by our guest writer, Cheryl Sewell My son Cruz’s diagnosis was a total surprise to us when I gave birth. When he was born, he looked me right in the eyes and I immediately felt an energy and connection that...
Charity boxing match to take place in Lincoln Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 3, 2024 (Chicago, IL) – Forget silent auctions or fancy galas – a different kind of charity event is hitting Chicago. Real Estate Rumble, a charity boxing event, will take place at Park West in Lincoln Park on Thursday, May 16. Sponsored by Vesta Preferred Realty,...
Annika’s story: From older sister to lifelong advocate
**This story was submitted via #MyDsStory and won the contest! Written by our guest writer, Annika Soderfelt Aaron, my little brother, has Down syndrome, and he is one of my best friends. He is only three years younger than I am, and the last almost 23 years with him have shaped...
April 2024 Newsletter
See all the great ways our GiGi's network is reaching out.... FREE PROGRAMS 59 LOCATIONS GLOBAL ACCEPTANCE Website|Volunteer|Support GiGi’s Playhouse receives $2 million MacKenzie Scott grant! Have you heard the news?!? GiGi’s Playhouse was awarded a $2 million grant by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving! With over 6,300 nonprofits...
GiGiFIT Movement Tracker Helps Build Daily Wellness Habits
by Kim Hanna It’s a universal issue: most of us struggle to build fitness into our daily lives. In theory, it sounds easy, and it is...until life happens. We get busy, priorities shift, and tasks that were once daily routine get pushed to the back burner. As parents, we naturally...
GiGi’s Playhouse receives groundbreaking $2 million MacKenzie Scott grant
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 10, 2024 – GiGi’s Playhouse, the only network of Down Syndrome Achievement Centers, has been awarded a $2 million grant by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving. With over 6,300 nonprofits applying, GiGi’s was one of only 361 organizations selected to win the prestigious grant. Originally, GiGi’s...