GiGi’s Playhouse Offers Free GiGi’s-AtHome Service During COVID-19 Outbreak Writer / Julie Yates Photography Provided by GiGi’s Playhouse
It is said that there is a silver lining to every cloud. Denisse Jensen, Executive Director of GiGi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center, has found a way to benefit many families amidst COVID-19 shutdowns. Days after the Indianapolis facility, located at 5909 East 86th Street, closed it doors, Jensen and volunteers converted in-person programming into Gigi’s-AtHome. Now, lesson plans, videos and student handouts plus realtime activities are available via the internet. Gigi’s Playhouse is a nonprofit organization that has 48 locations across the United States and one in Mexico. The Indianapolis site opened in 2015. Today, it serves more than 500 families in Central Indiana as well as some families who travel from Ohio. Its educational and therapeutic programs for both children and adults with Down Syndrome, are completely free and are funded entirely through grants, corporation partnerships and donations.
“The founder, Nancy Gianni, started the first GiGi’s Playhouse in 2003,” Jensen says. “She named it after her daughter, GiGi, who was born with Down Syndrome. After she was turned away from joining playgroups, Gianni realized that there needed to be a place for families like them.” “Everybody desires to have a place where kids are inspired to be their best self. GiGi’s is a place that fosters inclusion and acceptance. We embrace the whole family and offer support all the way from a pre-birth diagnosis through adulthood. We feel that limits can’t be put on someone just because of a diagnosis.” In Indianapolis, GiGi’s Playhouse has a staff of two full-time employees plus one who works part-time. Programing is conducted by dedicated volunteers. When it halted its inperson educational sessions in order to comply with COVID-19 mandates, Jensen had to act quickly. She and volunteers converted many programs to accessible online formats and assembled bags full
17 / BROAD RIPPLE MAGAZINE / MAY 2020 / atBRip.com
