Tag: United Nations

  • GiGi Gianni gives inspiring speech at United Nations

    GiGi Gianni gives inspiring speech at United Nations

    GiGi spoke about her life, her journey, and the importance of celebrating all individuals with Down syndrome

    New York, NY – On Thursday, March 20, GiGi Gianni, the 22-year-old namesake and Chief Inspiration Officer of GiGi’s Playhouse in Miami Township, spoke in front of the United Nations ahead of World Down Syndrome Day. GiGi spoke as part of the Center for Family & Human Rights panel on increasing support systems for individuals with Down syndrome.

    GiGi’s Playhouse released this statement:

    GiGi spoke about her life, her journey, and the importance of celebrating all individuals with Down syndrome.

    As inspiring as GiGi’s speech was, her message was simple: 

    Her life matters… in fact, every individual with Down syndrome matters.  

    Though the world is often quick to place labels on individuals with Down syndrome, GiGi made sure the room knew that she’s not a diagnosis. She’s a daughter, a sibling, an advocate, a singer, an author, a girlfriend, a career woman, and so much more. 

    In a world that often overlooks the Down syndrome community, GiGi made sure she was heard. 

    Nancy Gianni, GiGi’s mother and the Chief Belief Officer of GiGi’s Playhouse, also spoke about the incredible work the organization has done, with over 61 locations across the U.S. and Mexico, providing more than 340,000 hours of free educational and therapeutic programming each year.  

    While she highlighted this crucial work, Nancy also emphasized the ongoing work needed to ensure greater acceptance of individuals with Down syndrome and disabilities. 

    This echoed the message GiGi shared in her own speech—reminding the world that, while progress has been made, there is still much to do. 

    For GiGi, the focus remains clear: every life, including hers, matters.

    About GiGi’s Playhouse

    Purpose:

    To change the way the world views Down syndrome and to send a global message of acceptance for all.

    Mission:

    We make a lifetime commitment to changing lives and providing hope through the consistent delivery of FREE educational, therapeutic, and career development programs for individuals with Down syndrome, their families, and the community, using a replicable playhouse model.

    Vision:

    To see a world where individuals with Down syndrome are accepted and embraced in their families, schools, and communities.

    Promise:

    A lifetime commitment to families.

    Learn more about the GiGi’s Playhouse in Miami Township 

    732 Middleton Way, Suite 200
    Loveland, OH 45140
    Get directions

    (513) 888-1653
    cincinnati@gigisplayhouse.org

    ______________

    World Down Syndrome Day, on 21 March, is a global awareness day which has been officially observed by the United Nations since 2012.

    Find out why this day is so important…

    About World Down Syndrome Day

  • [w/video] Grailville: A place of peace, community, balance, growth, sustenance, “Sharing Born with the wisdom of Women.”

    [w/video] Grailville: A place of peace, community, balance, growth, sustenance, “Sharing Born with the wisdom of Women.”

    by David Miller

    David Miller

    Loveland, Ohio – This is the third video in our series about Grailville and its important cultural past in Loveland. “Grailville Now” was produced by Elizabeth Robinson and Elizabeth Murphy in September of 2009 © and presented here with their permission.

    In 1940, an international movement of women got on a boat. The last boat before Hitler invaded Holland. They made it to America, “by an eyelash” in April of that year.

    The Grail from Loveland became a voice in the United Nations.

    Grailville was the home of the National Grail movement in the United States; the symbolic heart of the movement.

    Will we allow the Grailville farm to be plowed under or will we choose new furrows planted in a way that continues to grow our future as a community?

    More reading…

    In Search of the Grail: The Story of a Women’s Movement…

    Why is Grailville important? A look at the Grail founding in Loveland

    [VIDEO] With public outpouring, has tide turned on Grailville?

    David Miller –  Mar 22, 2022

    Planning and Zoning Commission to hear from public on re-zoning Grailville

    An open letter to City Hall by the Mullins: Grailville decision…

    Drees submits application for 209 homes at Grailville

  • In Search of the Grail: The Story of a Women’s Movement in Loveland, Ohio

    In Search of the Grail: The Story of a Women’s Movement in Loveland, Ohio

    Changing things that look impossible to change.

    by David Miller

    Loveland, Ohio – In 1940, an international movement of women got on a boat. The last boat before Hitler invaded Holland. They made it to America, “by an eyelash” in April of that year.

    The Grail from Loveland became a voice in the United Nations.

    After watching the video below and in the spirit of Grailville’s past of venturing into the seemingly impossible, as the Publisher of this newspaper I have made an executive decision to go “all in” with an attempt to inform Loveland residents about the imminent destruction and erasure of the artifacts of a great cultural event of our local history.

    Grailville was the home of the National Grail movement in the United States; the symbolic heart of the movement.

    Will we allow the Grailville farm to be plowed under or will we choose new furrows planted in a way that continues to grow our future as a community?

    Screen shot from The U.S. Grail, a lay movement

    If we lose these artifacts, it will be by choice and not that we didn’t know – or know better.

    Will the City Historic Preservation and Planning Commission, the City Tree and Environment Committee, the City Planning and Zoning Commission, the City Council and City Manager, the City Comprehensive Master Development Plan Committee, the City Arts Commission, and Drees Homes stand in support or indifference of the bulldozers without acknowledgment of these, artifacts?

    Will they act out of ignorance or no comprehension of enlightenment? Will our future have value? Will Loveland’s legacy contain important worth? Preserving these artifacts can be value-added.

    Screen shot from The U.S. Grail, a lay movement

    A choice for each resident – Follow the Holy or Follow the Folly.

    We will no longer be able to say, “I didn’t know.”

    For sure, expressions of dismay about the impact of 200 plus homes at Grailville and the resulting strain on City services, overcrowding of already inadequate roads and schools, etc., are legitimate, however, so is the destruction of these intrinsic artifacts expressed in this video. A quality life whether for the individual, the collective community, or our grandchildren can be one filled with the remnants of the culture that made it so rich.

    Screen shot from The U.S. Grail, a lay movement

    This 2006 film by my friend Barbara Wolf, a Cincinnati filmmaker, for The U.S. Grail, a lay movement – explores the journey of those women seeking to transform the world as a matter of personal call and communal action.

    Our communal action in this present day is what?

    The Grail in the U.S. and in Loveland is not defunct by any means, read more HERE and HERE.

    Screen shot from The U.S. Grail, a lay movement

    Will we let a Kentucky home builder know they are proposing plowing under the footprints on this good earth and artifacts of an international movement of peace, gentleness, justice, and tranquility?

    We all have faith.

    Important artifacts, our seed crops, are about to be plowed under.

    Will our horizons call each other by name to respect these artifacts?

    More reading…

    Why is Grailville important? A look at the Grail founding in Loveland

    David Miller –  Mar 30, 2022

    [VIDEO] With public outpouring, has tide turned on Grailville?

    David Miller –  Mar 22, 2022

    Planning and Zoning Commission to hear from public on re-zoning Grailville

    David Miller –  Mar 8, 2022

    An open letter to City Hall by the Mullins: Grailville decision…

    Guest Column –  Mar 2, 2022

    Drees submits application for 209 homes at Grailville

    David Miller –  Jan 31, 2022