08/23/2023
“There is a major difference between a daycare and an early learning center. The teachers at Giraffe Laugh stand apart because they want to be there, they want to build relationships with the children, and they really want to help. Other daycares are not necessarily helping children build the skills they need. Giraffe Laugh finds ways to solve problems and develop children for their future success.”
-Parent of Giraffe Laugh student
08/19/2023
Wishing everyone an ADVENTUROUS weekend! 🌲
08/18/2023
TOMORROW is the Celebration of the Young Child at Julia Davis Park from 11 AM - 3 PM. Visit and experience the Celebration! There will be over 40 partner and allied organizations hosting activity stations with free books, STEM activities, crafts, music, active play, and storytime. We are excited for a day of the community gathering together to celebrate the boundless potential of our young learners in our community!
08/18/2023
Mountain West Bank is helping our community by Building Stronger Futures! This wonderful contribution to our capital campaign will impact the lives of children in the Treasure Valley for years to come. Thank you, Mountain West Bank! ❤️🦒
08/16/2023
Congratulations to our incredible team at Giraffe Laugh 4 on State Street for advancing to Step 5 in the IdahoSTARS Steps to Quality Child Care! This voluntary program is used to improve and communicate quality practices in child care. Step 5 indicates that our center is "Thriving as a childcare business and nurturing all children with quality early care and education experiences."
Shout out to Laura Hernandez, Jackie Galligan, and their team for their continuous work in making their center the absolute best it can be! We are so proud!
08/11/2023
Congratulations to Amanda Penning and Marisol Herrera-Hurtado for earning their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credentials while working at Giraffe Laugh on State Street! This is a wonderful achievement to be celebrating with you! 🌟🌟
08/10/2023
A dress up and face painting day to celebrate the end of summer program and beginning of a new school year?? WE'RE IN!
What an amazing few months we had with the children at summer program! We hope they had as much fun as we did. ☀️🤩🤩
08/09/2023
Boise Bicycle Project is having a back-to-school sale from Wednesday August 9th - Friday August 18th during regular business hours.
Even though we're creating this sale for students, everyone can benefit! We'll have 15% off all refurbished bikes and
15% off all accessories! Members can save an additional 20% off.
Also a reminder that our Sliding-Scale Kid's Bike Program is still up and running- where you pay what’s meaningful to you. A helmet and lock are included if needed, come in and pay what you can ($10-75)! We’re keeping this program around for the foreseeable future to provide a constant stream of refurbished, affordable kids bikes to the community.
08/08/2023
🎉🎉 The Giraffe Laugh Store closes in two days! Be sure to purchase any logo apparel you may want before the end of the day on August 10:
Giraffe Laugh
Order apparel online today
08/04/2023
Food insecurity and improper nutrition can trap families in a cycle of poverty and hunger. 40% of Americans are one paycheck away from being caught in the cycle, and many struggle for years to escape it. The Nourishing Neighbors Breakfast for Kids grant was awarded to Giraffe Laugh to help support healthy breakfast meals for the children we serve. We are thankful to our local Albertsons stores for nominating us for this funding! ❤️
08/03/2023
We have an amazing partnership with City of Good! One to two times a week they bring tons of fresh produce to stock our food pantries. This produce FLIES off our pantry shelves, feeding Giraffe Laugh families and other families in the community. Thank you, City of Good! 🥦🥕🥒🥔🥬🧄
08/02/2023
Let’s celebrate our August work anniversaries!
✨ Beverly celebrates 22 years ✨
✨ Laura celebrates 19 years ✨
✨ Dora celebrates 18 years ✨
✨ Hannah celebrates 1 year ✨
✨ Haley celebrates 1 year ✨
These ladies are amazing! Thank you to each of them for being integral pieces of Giraffe Laugh.
07/31/2023
WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO! WE'VE GOT SPIRIT, HOW 'BOUT YOU?! Get your Giraffe Laugh spirit gear here: https://giraffe-laugh.spiritsale.com 🎉🎉🎉
The deadline for ordering spirit gear has been extended to August 10th. Order yours now!
Giraffe Laugh
Order apparel online today
07/28/2023
to our Mardi Gras Benefit Event for Giraffe Laugh! We love celebrating with friends and family! Join us for as we wrap-up July with a happy hour at 5:30 PM at The James Kitchen & Bar tonight!
Members, family, friends, and interested guests are all welcome!
07/27/2023
We’ve just earned our 2023 Silver Seal with ! We are excited to share the work our nonprofit does through our . Learn how you can support us and make a difference: https://www.guidestar.org/profile/82-0481812
07/25/2023
Happy National Culinarians Day to Chloe, Nia, and Jayda! We sure do appreciate their dedication to providing nutritious, tasty food to all the children who attend Giraffe Laugh programs. Thank you for all your hard work ladies!! ❤️❤️❤️
07/25/2023
Want to order some Giraffe Laugh gear?! Great news: we have an apparel store open until August 1! Place your order ASAP here: https://giraffe-laugh.spiritsale.com 🔥🔥🔥
Giraffe Laugh
Order apparel online today
07/21/2023
More fun at summer program! How many sugar cubes can be stacked in colored water before they dissolve? Which barriers precent water from seeping through and which ones slowed down the process? These are the types of questions the children are asking and testing themselves during this experiment.
After the experiment was done, everyone got to try a sugar cube. Most children liked them but several students spit them out! 😝😝
07/20/2023
Did you know that you can link your Fred Meyer rewards card to support Giraffe Laugh? With their Community Rewards program, the more you shop, the more money gets donated to Giraffe Laugh. We currently have 14 households supporting us. Help Giraffe Laugh by linking your rewards card to our organization! ❤️
Kroger Co. Family of Stores is committed to bringing hope and help to the local neighborhoods they call home. Their stores are on a mission to create a stronger community.
07/13/2023
The children at summer program took a fun and educational trip to the Idaho Botanical Garden. Each child that attended for a free household pass to the garden! 🪴
Scroll to the last photo for a super cute surprise - dot paintings!
07/11/2023
Have you heard the exciting news?! Giraffe Laugh is building a new early learning center at The Franklin! This new center will serve 80 additional children and their families by ensuring school readiness, empowering families, and building strong futures.
In May, Lori was able to attend a hard hat tour at The Franklin, a new housing complex that will be providing 90% of residents affordable housing. This partnership will allow us to fulfill our mission of building strong futures by providing quality early care and education to children least served in our community. Check out these photos for a sneak peak at the site for the future new Giraffe Laugh!
Want to learn more about how you can help in our Building Stronger Futures capital campaign? Click here: https://www.giraffelaugh.org/capital-campaign/
07/08/2023
Let’s celebrate our July work anniversaries!
✨ Cassandra celebrates 5 years ✨
✨ Becky celebrates 2 years ✨
Thank you for everything you do to help local children and families, Cassandra and Becky!
07/06/2023
Children from Giraffe Laugh 4 got to visit the Boise Zoo last week! ☀️
07/04/2023
Happy 4th of July from Giraffe Laugh! 🇺🇸
06/30/2023
Today was Miss Jane’s last gardening class at GL 2! The children have LOVED learning about vegetable plants, flowers, soil, sunlight, water, and roots. Their new knowledge on gardening will help them establish their own gardens at home! 🪴🧑🌾
Jake Kuechle is involved in the Advanced Master Gardener program and the University of Idaho Extension Office. Throughout her time teaching at our programs, she has been developing a curriculum guide for her classes to receive credit as an Advanced Master Gardener. We can’t wait to get our copy of the curriculum to share with others who want to teach children to garden. Thank you again, Jane Kuechle!
06/22/2023
The children have been having a BLAST during the first few of summer program! ☀️
06/19/2023
Happy Juneteenth! Check out this article to learn more about the origin of Juneteenth and how to celebrate today. ❤️
'All of our history': How all Americans can celebrate Juneteenth
Many people now get the day off work or school, and communities around the US celebrate with street festivals, concerts and other events.
06/15/2023
Celebration of the Young Child is coming up on August 19th! If you're interested in having a table or sponsoring the event, go to: https://ow.ly/wTaQ50OOEUV. Join us as we celebrate Idaho's early learners!
06/14/2023
Exciting news... We have been awarded $10,000 through the Nourishing Neighbors Breakfast for Kids grant! These funds support high-quality, abundant breakfast meals for each of our programs throughout the summer months. Additionally, our programs provide lunch, a hearty snack, and on-site food pantries that will be supplemented by this funding. A huge thank you to a local Albertsons store for nominating us for this funding! 🥞🍓🥓🍌🍳🥛
06/09/2023
Some great ideas for rainy days like today! ☔️
06/09/2023
Food is the most basic of all needs. A healthy diet builds overall good health and fuels working and learning throughout the day. In the short term, food is the easiest place for a family to skimp on cost, but in the long term, the consequences of a poor diet or food insecurity can include developmental delays in children, compromised performance at school or work, and chronic disease in adults. ALICE families living in food deserts also face challenges in getting access to healthy foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables.
06/08/2023
Let’s celebrate our June work anniversaries!
✨ Kylie celebrates 4 years ✨
✨ Anita celebrates 3 years ✨
✨ Amber celebrates 1 year ✨
✨ Lynnsey celebrates 1 year ✨
You are each such an important part of Giraffe Laugh! Thank you for all you do!
06/02/2023
Spring time calls for gardening! Miss Jane is an amazing volunteer who taught gardening classes at Giraffe Laugh on State Street for the entire month of May. During their final gardening class, each student received a certificate that pronounced them as a “Gardening Wizard!” 🪴🪄
Miss Jane will be teaching gardening classes at Giraffe Laugh on Grand Avenue during the month of June. Stay tuned for more pictures!
05/29/2023
Today we’re remembering and honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
05/25/2023
Presenting the Giraffe Laugh Class of 2023! On Saturday, our preschoolers came together to celebrate their graduation with friends, family, and teachers. The 20 graduates proudly marched to Pomp and Circumstance, smiled big for countless photos, and enjoyed delicious cupcakes. Congratulations on reaching this exciting milestone, Class of 2023! 🎓🎓🎓
05/19/2023
We're wishing a very happy birthday to our Executive Director, Lori Fascilla!
To know her is to love her! Lori is intuitive, dynamic, generous, and inspiring, and we are so thankful for her leadership. Happy Birthday, Lori! 🥰🥰
05/18/2023
Giraffe Laugh Garden City Preschool got to learn about the lifecycle of a butterfly by raising a flight (a group of butterflies) from larva to adult. After nurturing and feeding them in their classroom, they released the butterflies at a family picnic. 🦋🧺
05/17/2023
Let’s celebrate our April and May work anniversaries!
✨ Neile celebrates 24 years ✨
✨ Annie celebrates 11 years ✨
✨ Nia celebrates 5 years ✨
✨ Madison celebrates 1 year ✨
✨ Alexa celebrates 1 year ✨
Thank you for the amazing years you have dedicated to Giraffe Laugh, whether it be 24 years or 1 year! We love you!
05/15/2023
On May 1-4, we took part in a huge online giving event: Idaho Gives! We are still in awe of the generosity shown to us during the campaign.
We are proud to announce that the goal we set for our campaign was TRIPLED! Each donor was able to double their impact with a donation of any amount due to $7,500 in matching funds from anonymous supporters. Giraffe Laugh’s grand total for funds raised during Idaho Gives is $15,085!
Every gift made during will play a critical role in allowing us to serve our community and create a larger impact by continuing to ensure school readiness, empower families, and build strong futures.
We are also extremely thankful to have been drawn to win the Peer-to-Peer prize of an additional $1,000 thanks to our amazing fundraisers.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who participated in, donated to, and advocated for Giraffe Laugh during Idaho Gives!