I had the privilege of touring Gigi’s Playhouse Raleigh with Maria Fumagalli de Romano, The New Family Coordinator, and Lucia Romano, her daughter and very active Gigi’s volunteer. Kylee Leavitt with Carolina Sensory Solutions joined me on the tour!
First, let’s talk about location. The Playhouse is located right beside the Cary downtown park and the Cary downtown library. Parking is readily available in the parking deck right beside the entrance. Once you enter, there is a check-in tablet and a ramp leading up to the main space (yay accessibility!)
There are several unique areas off of the main multipurpose area. First, there is an area where parents can sit and work if they have older children or adults participating. Desks for staff and volunteers are in the space as well.
Several smaller rooms are designated for tutoring which is offered at no cost (actually all of their services are at no cost!). The last room on the strip of rooms is a sensory room with many sensory toys and calm-down activities.
They offer 3 bathrooms, all catering to different accessibility and bathroom support needs. Some offer automatic sinks/toilets, others offer levers and step stools are present in all. There are also lockers and instruments for participating in activities.
One of the most exciting parts Lucia was excited to show us was the kitchen! They have a full kitchen, laundry, and meeting room so that life skills can be taught. Lucia even hosted a cooking class virtually! Having a kitchen is not just for life skills but to host meals for community involvement, like a recent visit from the Cary Police Department.
Last but not least, there is a multipurpose gym room that comes fully equipped with many Nugget couches! In this room, they host a baby class, little kid class, exercise class, and dance class. Full of windows, you look out onto a grassy space across the street.
Gigi’s also partners with Howdy ice cream next door and this allows Howdy to have amazing employees and for participants to gain experience at Howdy.
What I loved to hear is that everything is provided to participants at no cost as Gigi’s is mostly volunteer-run. They fill a gap for activities for families of Down Syndrome but also don’t fill a need met by other organizations like NDSA. There are advisory boards and one is even for youth which engages participants and their siblings. Everyone is welcome- from birth until adulthood. There are Spanish-speaking programs/support which is incredible.
While the physical Playhouse is located in Cary, they also have activities in Chapel Hill and Fayetteville. On their website, you can find the calendar of events which is color-coded by age and location!
What I like most about Gigi’s, and what I feel like my Grandmother wanted and never got for my Aunt Carol, is acceptance into the world. Down Syndrome is embraced and celebrated. Pictures of participants are displayed throughout the space and in a family photo album. Older participants go into the community and have activities outside of the Playhouse at places like the YMCA. They are breaking barriers and doing good for the community.
I am so grateful I got the chance to tour and hope to partner with them in the future for events or just volunteering!