Coming Early 2021
A Little Something Extra,
with Nancy Gianni and The GiGi
—the FIRST video podcast co-hosted by an individual with Down syndrome! From A-list actors to athletes to everyday people, we’ll have something for everyone! Most important, we’ll celebrate each guests’ “something extra,” which is the piece of you that truly makes you who you are.
A Little Something Extra provides an opportunity for people of all different backgrounds to share their “something extra,” which is the piece of you that truly makes you who you are. We want to hear about the forces in people's lives that drive their passion and inspiration in hopes that others may be able to find theirs!
We all have a little something extra inside of us, and sometimes we do not even know it is there. We want to get to the heart of what makes our guests and our listeners so inspiring– their superpower – even if they do not feel it within themselves.
Every episode of A Little Something Extra will feature guests, with and without developmental disabilities, who have accomplished the impossible and have changed the world! Be prepared to find yourself motivated and inspired with every installment from a wide range of guests. Our firsts four guests of the show will include NBA Player Justin Jackson and his wife Brooke, model, mother and advocate, Amanda Booth, and stories of success and inspiration from our friends Dennis Dixon and Craig Blackburn.
About the Hosts
About The GiGi
GiGi was born on August 2, 2002 and has been changing the world ever since! She is the inspiration behind GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Centers (with 60 locations and startups, serving families in 36 countries!). GiGi travels to every GiGi’s Playhouse location spreading her message of love, hope and acceptance to all she meets. She is a very active high school student who works out daily, participates in school plays, voice lessons, dance lessons, tutoring and all the other things that teenagers do! Her favorite past time is hanging with friends and family. This girl knows how to party! Her biggest accomplishment to date was singing the National Anthem at the Cubs game in front of 40,000 people at Wrigley Field in 2019! She memorized the words quickly, but worked for YEARS on the articulation of the words and to build her muscles up to project her voice. It was an amazing day (link to song). Talk about #goals! In 2021 (Covid willing) she will be singing our National Anthem at both the Cubs and the Sox game!
About Nancy Gianni
Nancy Gianni, Founder and Chief Belief Officer of GiGi’s Playhouse, is an author, motivational speaker and most importantly, GiGi’s mom.
“My biggest fear in life is not giving GiGi, and all of our kids, a voice. God helped me build this incredible platform and now we need to use it for change. When I started the first GiGi’s Playhouse, my husband freaked. He didn’t understand how we were going to offer free therapeutic and educational programs to individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community, and not charge a cent. Honestly, I had no clue how I was going to do it either, I just knew it needed to be done. Well, 17 years later, we have 60 GiGi’s Playhouses locations and startups, across the country and in Mexico, and serve families in more than 35 countries with free speech therapy, free literacy and math tutoring, free fitness classes, career skills, OT, PT, etc….We found a way! (and I found lots of gray hair too!)”
Check Out Our BTS!
