Wintery Affair

press release: A follow-up fundraiser to last year’s successful inaugural “Gio’s Garden Wintery Affair” is being held again at Smart Toyota on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, from 7-11 p.m. The ticketed event is open to all who wish to make a difference in the lives of families with children with special needs. Families with a child with special needs cannot, despite their best efforts, have full control over every aspect of caregiving without some outside assistance. That’s why Gio’s Garden, a therapeutic respite center for children six-years old and younger with special needs, opened their doors to the Madison area community in 2012.

The second annual benefit at Smart Toyota (5901 Odana Road, Madison) will feature “Food, Wine, Chocolate & All That Jazz” with music by Madison-based band The Blue Olives. There will also be all-you-can-eat heavy appetizers and sweets and complimentary beer and wine. Tickets can be purchase via the Gio’s Garden website at www.giosgarden.org.  Gio’s Garden would like to thank the sponsors of this event: Smart Motors, Maurer’s Market, Madison Property Management, and Colin’s Crew.

Single Ticket: $90; Couples Ticket: $160; Group of 10 Tickets: $750. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

Gio’s Garden grew out of an overwhelming sense of frustration parents encounter when constantly tending to the care that a child with disabilities needs. In this case, the child in question is a youngster named Giovanni Giordan. Gio’s health issues included suffering from more than 80 seizures a day and undergoing three brain surgeries.

Despite his severe medical needs, though, Gio’s family did not have access to in home-respite care. His parents soon realized he wasn’t the only one. Reaching out to other parents in similar situations, they realized there was a strong and urgent need for outside assistance. They, like other parents, could not do everything for their child while also holding down jobs, taking care of other siblings, and trying to maintain a “normal” life. Collectively, these parents decided they needed a break… and they were going to do something about it.

Gio’s parents, along with their newfound circle of other parents with children with special needs, worked to raise funds and awareness in order to open Gio’s Garden in Middleton. In its first year, Gio’s Garden provided 225 hours of respite to area families. Today, it offers upwards of 1,100 hours of much needed respite every month!

“Respite is an opportunity for a child to spend time away from parents and family,” says Gio’s Garden’s executive director Val Madsen. “Having a child at our facility for a few hours a week helps to start transition the child into a preschool or school setting so that it is not the first time the child is away from mom or dad. It is also a great opportunity for parents to take care of the things they need to do, such as run errands, spend time with the other children in the family, rest, read a book, visit with a friend, attend any appointments, have a date night and to get things done that need to be done.”

Madsen says that by utilizing Geo’s Garden’s services, families can have a worry-free period apart from caregiving while knowing their child is in good hands, having fun, and making progress towards their goals. More about Gio’s Garden’s respite services can be found at http://giosgarden.org/services/