How Much Do We Love Our Volunteers???
If you’re keeping score at home, you probably know that GiGi’s Playhouse provides 600 hours of progressive and purposeful programs to 200 participants in any given month. And you probably know that 99% of the programs are led by volunteers. Lots of them.In fact, we averaged 57 volunteers who gave...
Joel Takes the Mound!
The GiGi’s Playhouse friendship with players on the Drake University Softball team started when centerfielder Tatum Aragon started her internship at GiGi’s Playhouse in August of 2025. In addition to leading or co-leading a wide range of GiGi’s programs, Tatum started bringing her teammates to GiGi’s for Fantastic Friends on...
A Lookback At World Down Syndrome Day
March 21st is World Down Syndrome Day and, for GiGi’s Playhouse, it’s the big deal. If all we had planned was our annual World Down Syndrome Day Party, that would be enough to get excited about. But we had so much more on tap. To get an idea, here are...
GiGi’s Playhouse and APEX: An Ongoing Partnership
Every month, GiGi’s Playhouse Des Moines is proud to serve more than 200 participants through over 600 hours of purposeful programming, including one-on-one tutoring, fitness classes, and life skills programs. These free programs help us fulfill our mission of changing the way the world views Down syndrome and sending a...
Become a 321 Believer!
I know what it’s like… You wake up and realize you forgot to shop for that special someone on their very special day. Or in this case, what to get GiGi’s Playhouse on World Down Syndrome Day (today, March 21st). Well, we have an idea of the perfect gift!To commemorate...
Boots and Bling: It’s a GiGi’s Thing!
The 2026 GiGi’s Playhouse “Boots and Bling” Gala was an epic night with so many highlights to share, like: A sold-out event of 431 attendees! Outfits “blinged-out” in Denim and diamonds, playing to the theme beautifully! A “I Have a Voice” video that hit all the right notes! An impressive...
Meet Ollie (and His Family)!
We’ll never forget when Tanzeh and Joseph Metzger came to visit GiGi’s Playhouse last April. Tanzeh was eight months pregnant and the two had just learned that their child, a son, would be born with Down syndrome. They lived in the neighborhood and never had a reason to stop in...
The Heart Behind the Art
We all know that art takes time, but Jess Lane might know that more than most. Each year, Jess surrounds herself with a group of talented creators here at GiGi’s Playhouse. She conceptualizes beautiful works of art that these artists – veteran and aspiring – bring to life, just in...
Max Meets Max (and Mia)!
You may have seen the GiGi’s Playhouse social media post about Max Crawford, the handsome 22-year-old man with Down syndrome from Kansas City who is making quite a name for himself as founder of Max Mix Gourmet Spice Blends. We met Max when he and his parents, Rod and Pam,...
Enter the GiGi’s Virtual Playhouse!
Friday’s sub-zero temperatures closed our Playhouse on Friday and canceled our evening Fantastic Friends program. Our staff worked from home, which got me thinking about how fortunate we are to live in a virtual world where so much is available on a screen and at our fingertips. (Whether we like...
Welcome to Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this…… When you're going to have a...
A Unique Look Back at 2025
It’s New Year’s Eve, and the perfect time to look back at 2025. But we’ve decided to do it in a different way. Not with a “Best of” list, but something a bit different.For this reflection, we’ve collected some items found around the Playhouse, including a couple of things from...