Photography by Steve Buchanan
When Ginger Houston-Ludlam’s 24-year-old daughter Carmen expressed interest in GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis, the two of them decided to pay a visit soon after the facility opened in 2018. Ginger realized that the national organization, which works with children and adults with Down syndrome and their families, had great potential.
Ginger’s involvement started small. Her daughter loves to dance, and GiGi’s Playhouse offered few dance programs at the time of their visit. “I said, ‘Wait a minute. I know that a lot of people with Down syndrome love music and love to dance,” Houston-Ludlam explains. “I asked, ‘Why aren’t we throwing dances? And (President) Judy (Co) said, ‘Great idea. Why don’t you help out?’”
That’s all the encouragement Houston-Ludlam needed. She jumped right in during the fall of 2018 and formed a dance committee. That led to five themed dances in 2019. Since then, she has become one of the organization’s most dedicated volunteers and has developed several new and innovative programs. Houston-Ludlam started a career development program and a cooking and mixology class. She also teaches a sewing class and organizes and helps with fundraisers.
“Ginger has been really incredible,” says Judy Co, who manages GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis. “She has helped bring some amazing programs here. Being a parent of an adult with Down syndrome, she really understands the needs and opportunities we can create. She’s an integral part of what we do and she’s thoughtful, knowledgeable, reliable, and a joy to work with.”
Of all the things the 62-year-old Houston-Ludlam does, the career development program is the most involved and important thing. It launched last fall. The program offers communication skills and work skills and habits related to finding and holding a job, including the importance of a positive attitude, showing up on time, and the essentials of good hygiene. On top of that, the program, which ran from early-September to mid-November, included showing how to operate a cash register.
It was so successful, GiGi’s Playhouse will run the in-person program again in spring 2022. “It’s a wonderful program” Co says. “It gives the adults a place for an extended period to learn important life skills, independent skills, and job skills. It was really needed. They are doing so many different things like cooking and stuff with computers.”
Houston-Ludlam also has gotten buy-in from the corporate world. She’s working with two restaurants and two businesses in the Annapolis area to set up internships for adults. “My daughter has a job,” says Houston-Ludlam, who works at the University of Maryland as a biology professor and holds a doctorate degree in Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics. “I have seen what it means to her. It is such an important part of her self-esteem.”
Houston-Ludlam also designed a cooking class called GiGi’s Kitchen. She used a program promoted by former First Lady Michelle Obama as the basis for the class. Houston-Ludlam stresses promoting a healthy diet. She started the sessions two years ago and has continued it through this spring. The classes run once a week for about an hour and half.
“The first 15 minutes or so we talk about nutrition,” Houston-Ludlam says. “And we look at food labels and salts. Then we have a recipe and break the group up into tables. One table does the meat and the other table the vegetables. And some put together a salad.”
Houston-Ludlam has her hand in fundraising, too. She was most active in 2019 and 2020. She called the fund-raising mixology class “my brainchild.” The first one took place in August of last year and another one is scheduled for this summer. Houston-Ludlam also helped a concession stand fundraiser at three Naval Academy football games and she and her daughter made items for the silent auction of the organization’s gala.
Houston-Ludlam has been generous with her time. She has volunteered for four other organizations since 2009. “She comes with new, fresh ideas in a way most volunteers wouldn’t even think to do,” says Stacie Hansen, a board member of the organization. “We only have two full-time employees. It is essential for us to stay open and have people like Ginger be leaders.”
To learn more about GiGi’s Playhouse Annapolis, visit gigisplayhouse.org/annapolis.
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