by Tarah Thorne from My Suburban Life:
South Barrington mother Nancy Gianni founded GiGi's Playhouse, Inc., a national Down syndrome awareness and achievement organization in Hoffman Estates in 2003, shortly after her daughter Giuliana (GiGi) was born with Down syndrome.
Gianni said that as a new mother who knew nothing about Down syndrome, she felt devastated and hopeless, until she realized that Giuliana was more like her two other children, Franco and Isabella, than different....
Gianni shared her story with Barrington Suburban Life reporter Tarah Thorne, explaining how greatly her non-profit organization has grown in just over a decade.
Thorne: Can you believe how far GiGi's has come?
No. We are truly blessed. I am constantly blown away by our growth.
Thorne: What was your goal starting GiGi's?
Educating my own community on the potential of individuals with Down syndrome. I also wanted people to have a place to celebrate and understand their diagnosis and take away some of the fear associated with Down syndrome.
Thorne: In what ways has GiGi's changed or stayed the same today?
We have now evolved into education and achievement centers, offering free one-on-one tutoring in literacy and math and 30 other educational and therapeutic programs. We also went from one location in 2003 to 22 in 2014, with several more communities working to open in their areas.
