GiGi's Playhouse Rochester Receives $50,000 Grant from Golisano Foundation to Launch New Careers & Communications Program
Rochester, NY, August 21, 2023 – GiGi’s Playhouse Rochester, a nonprofit Down syndrome achievement center, is pleased to announce that is has received a $50,000 grant from the Golisano Foundation to support the launch of the new Career and Communications program for participants with Down syndrome.
"We are deeply grateful to have the generous support of Tom Golisano and the Golisano Foundation," said Tom O'Neill, GiGi's Playhouse Rochester president. "Thanks to this grant, we'll be able to launch our new Careers and Communications program, which is designed to improve speech and language abilities in adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and help them prepare for employment opportunities.”
"We're pleased to help GiGi's fulfill its mission of promoting fundamental skills for the people they serve by expanding this new and exciting program,” said Erica Dayton, Golisano Foundation director.
GiGi’s Playhouse Rochester's new Career Development Program aims to develop people with Down syndrome to become leaders and mentors in their work and role models in the community. The program will be enhanced through the ten key speech skills in the Amina Grace Speech and Language program, which are particularly important for gaining job skills and independence and bridging the gaps in meaningful employment.
Fall programming begins Monday, September 11, with GiGi's speech and language therapy for their adult participants shifting to focus on more career development and life skills.
The need for speech therapy for people with Down syndrome goes far beyond the secondary education years. Effective communication is critical for adults with Down syndrome in securing gainful employment and ultimately in achieving and maintaining independence.
This program, like all others at GiGi’s Playhouse, is provided free of charge to all participants and families.
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About GiGi's Playhouse Rochester
GiGi’s Playhouse Rochester is a non-profit organization that serves people with Down syndrome from prenatal diagnosis to adulthood focusing on achievement, belief and confidence. Open since April 2017, it is part of GiGi's Playhouse network of 53 Down Syndrome Achievement Centers and growing across the United States and Mexico — the only network of its kind that provides free, life-changing therapeutic, educational and career training programs for 30,000+ individuals of all ages.
Through free programs and the Generation G Campaign for global acceptance, GiGi’s helps maximize opportunities for daily achievement and lasting acceptance. The program helps advance a vital social impact goal by showing the world what individuals with Down syndrome are capable of achieving as students, co-workers, volunteers, friends, and valued members of their communities.
For more information about free programs, volunteerism, impact partnerships, events, and the many ways to support GiGi's Playhouse Rochester families visit: gigisplayhouse.org/rochester.
About the Golisano Foundation
The Golisano Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. dedicated to making the world a better place for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The Foundation is devoted to opening doors to opportunity, changing negative perceptions and stereotypes, and forging unprecedented partnerships to ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have pathways to personal dignity, independence, and the best possible expression of their abilities and talents throughout their lifetimes. Founded in 1985 by Tom Golisano—entrepreneur, philanthropist, civic leader, and founder of Paychex, Inc. —the Foundation “imagines the possibilities,” advocating for families, fighting for their dignity, and giving people with IDD the opportunity to thrive in their communities. With more than $60 million in gross assets, it awards about $3 million annually to non-profit organizations in Western New York and Southwest Florida.