Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation to Host Annual Benefit in New York City on June 11, 2025

08 Jun Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation to Host Annual Benefit June 11 To Raise Funds For The Next Champion

Posted at 13:00h in News & Features by Christy Sandmaier 0 Comments

By Christy Sandmaier

Vice President & Co-Publisher

The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) will host its 9th annual benefit, honoring significant contributors to the Foundation and its mission to empower the lives of young people from underserved communities by improving physical and emotional health through the sport of gymnastics. The event will be hosted by TODAY Show’s Al Roker, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 6 p.m. at the New York Athletic Club in New York City.

Michael Tiedemann, CEO, AITi Tiedemann Global & Chairman, RIVER FUND will receive the inaugural Simone Biles Give Back Award; the Community Impact Award will be presented to the Harlem Community Development Corporation; and Christopher Harrison, outgoing chair of the WHGF will receive the WHGF Hero’s Award.

“We are beyond thankful to our 2025 honorees for their contributions not only to our students, but the Harlem neighborhood as a whole,” said Wendy Hilliard, Founder and CEO of WHGF. “An exciting addition to our annual event is the Simone Biles Give Back Award. Simone has had a global impact on our sport, and we’re grateful that she continues to recognize the importance of what we do here. We will continue to push to provide opportunities for our children, and could not do that without contributors such as Michael, the Harlem Community Development Corporation and Christopher’s time, dedication and impact to keep gymnastics alive in Harlem.”

Hilliard was the first Black rhythmic gymnast to represent the U.S. internationally and was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 2008. As a result of her experiences, she founded WHGF in 1996 before expanding to her hometown of Detroit in 2016, to make gymnastics accessible to urban youth. The Foundation serves urban youth between the ages of 3 to 17. At WHGF, young gymnasts learn about time management, responsibility, teamwork, leadership, and sustainable health habits. To date, WHGF has served over 25,000 youth.

The annual benefit will raise funds to continue to provide high-quality gymnastics to urban youth through scholarships, meet the demand of the foundation’s low-cost classes and free events and raise awareness of the opportunity to learn and train in the sport. With the support from the evening, WHGF will be able to continue to annually serve nearly 1,000 students, some of which will perform during the ceremony.

“We have about 12 of our kids perform,” Hilliard told Inside Gymnastics. “They’ve been working on this routine for three straight weeks. Because it’s a small space, when people interact with the gymnasts, their energy that they emanate, they get the impact we have on the kids right away because they see the joy in the kids.”

The addition of the Simone Biles Give Back Award further captures the spirit of the event and encapsulates what giving back to the gymnastics community is all about. Biles is a long-time supporter of WHGF, and the night’s top award represents the excellence, determination and commitment of the sport’s most decorated athlete.

“Simone and her people have always supported us for years and years,” Hilliard said. “They have always been so giving on so many levels. Simone wants to make sure that anything she has her name attached to, she’s aware of. She’s got to be connected with it. She’s been supporting us for years. Tickets to the tour, on TV, she’s always doing that. She was so wonderful to have the award in her name, because for us, it’s very special. She knows exactly what we do. She’s always brought great joy. That connection really helps what we do and also spreads her message of giving back on another level.”

Hilliard is so very grateful to the gymnastics community for their unwavering support, and to all those who embrace the mission of her programs. She’s driven by her own experiences and opportunites, and is ultra-dedicated to extending that to the next generation, together with her team of coaches and staff.

“We’re like a family, which is really great that the kids stay with us. Now that we have a second generation of really great coaches, my next goal is to have our own gym, a dedicated gymnastics center in New York City, which is no small feat. That’s really what drives me now, because I have all the staff. We have more than enough kids. They have great role models. But for us to do gymnastics the way we want to, we just don’t have enough time. So we have to have two spaces that are dedicated to gymnastics. That’s my next goal, and that’s going to be my legacy because I know my staff is trained. They can do it. I’ve just got to get them the space. That’s my job.”

Wendy with Athletes - Credit Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation

The kids are the why of every initiative.

“This community across the board has been so supportive of what we do, and it really affects the kids’ lives,” she said. “The stories we have from the different kids that we have, it’s a big range. In gymnastics, as you understand, the parental part is big. That’s why we’re in the community, right? We have to support families as well, oftentimes.

“The cool thing about our gym is that the reason we all wear the same leotard is because once you’re there, everybody’s the same. We’ve had kids in homeless services. We met one of our team kids in rhythmic, and we had to write the homeless shelter to say, ‘We’re picking her up on Friday. We’ll be back.’ It’s that level of care that you have for the kids. We do that so that once everybody’s in the gym, everybody’s the same. And that’s a really special.”

Because of the support of so many, Hilliard has been able to expand and offer opportunities to the young gymnasts the foundation serves on multiple levels.

“We do get a lot of really talented kids because not all of them have a lot of other outlets. So when they get this gymnastics and they’re doing good at gymnastics, they’re sticking with that gymnastics. And we’re taking them. We’re traveling locally, nationally. John Roethlisberger, for the last four or five years, has always given us some scholarships to go to FlipFest. So now we’re flying to Tennessee to do FlipFest. People don’t always understand how special it is to kids that don’t always get out a lot.”

June 11 offers the opportunity for everyone in attendance to feel that support up close, and to see the impact they’re making in each athlete’s life.

“I appreciate those that support us. This is the big one,” Hilliard said. “It’s been a tough year for all nonprofits and fundraising, so we are going all out. I hope people are very, very generous and know that their support will definitely go to the kids. It’s really what we do. We serve a lot of kids, and they get a lot of great gymnastics. So we hope that they do this, of course, on June 11th, but throughout the year. Giving back is a really important part of development as well. I’ve learned that from our top athletes, Simone, Gabby (Douglas), Jordan (Chiles), Laurie (Hernandez); John has been giving back. Frederick (Richard) is doing it all… I’m grateful to do that when it really does give a lot to your life. I just appreciate everyone, and I hope they support us on the 11th.”

Wendy with the WHGF Harlem Competing Athletes (HGI 2025) - Credits Julieta Okot

About the 2025 WHGF Honorees:

Michael Tiedemann is the Chief Executive Officer of AlTi Tiedemann Global. Before leading the merger that created AlTi, he was a Founding Partner, CEO, and Chairman of the Internal Investment Committee at Tiedemann Advisors, as well as CEO at Tiedemann Investment Group (TIG). He serves on the board of multiple organizations and has been recognized for his contributions to charitable causes. He both established and is the Chairman of the Board of RIVER FUND, a nonprofit organization that provides food, education, and support services to help families in New York City break the cycle of poverty.

“The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation is an incredible resource in the heart of Harlem that has inspired and shaped international athletes. I am truly honored to receive the inaugural Simone Biles Impact Award,” said Tiedemann. “Wendy and Simone have both had incredible careers, and have paved the way for the future of the sport. Together, we can keep introducing gymnastics to our youth and creating opportunities that would otherwise not have existed.”

Harlem Community Development Corporation (HCDC), a subsidiary of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, was created in 1995 to serve the greater Harlem community, including Central Harlem, El Barrio/East Harlem, Washington Heights and West Harlem. Through various partnerships, HCDC plans and facilitates a wide range of community revitalization initiatives, strengthening upper Manhattan and its economically and culturally vibrant communities.

Christopher Harrison is a visionary entrepreneur and pioneer of aerial and acrobatic arts. In 1991, he founded AntiGravity®Inc., America’s first contemporary aerial-acrobatic entertainment company, blending athleticism and artistry to redefine movement across performance, sport, and wellness. A former world-class gymnastics specialist and Broadway dancer, Harrison’s choreography has lit up stages from the Olympics to the Academy Awards, the Metropolitan Opera, and President Obama’s Inauguration. His work spans Disney films, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, and collaborations with many cultural icons from Spielberg to Mariah Carey. His distinctive aerial pop style was notably adopted by P!nk. Recognized as the father of aerial yoga, Harrison created eight proprietary AntiGravity® Fitness techniques, practiced in over 50 countries. His innovation—the Harrison AntiGravity® Hammock—has become a global standard in wellness. Now entering a bold new chapter, Harrison is launching the AntiGravity® Movement—a visionary initiative blending wellness, longevity, creative expression, and social impact. For nearly 30 years, Harrison proudly championed underserved youth as Board Chair for the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation. Receiving the 2025 Hero’s Award is a deeply personal honor—a tribute to the transformative power of movement, community and the dreams that uplift humanity.

“I’ve had the honor of working alongside the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation for nearly three decades, and I have seen firsthand, the impact that this organization has had on the community and our children,” said Harrison. “It means so much to me to be recognized with the Hero’s Award on such an important night as we raise funds to keep gymnastics programming available for years to come.”

Past honorees have included Dimitrius Hutcherson, Harry Smith, Reggie Van Lee, Andrea Joyce, Donna de Varona, George Ntim, Corrinne Wright Tarver, Geoffrey Canada, Nadia Comaneci, Billie Jean King, Bruno Klaus, Jay Kriegel, Simon M. Lorne, Gail Marquis, Christina Minardi, David O’Brien, Emeka Okafor and more.

See the recap video from the 2024 benefit HERE!

Click here more information on this year’s event, as well as previous benefits. Sponsorships and tickets available here.

To follow the foundation’s updates, visit Instagram @WendyHilliardFoundation, Facebook @WendyHilliardFoundation, Twitter @WendyHilliardFD, and YouTube @GymnasticsFoundation.

ABOUT WENDY HILLIARD & THE WENDY HILLIARD GYMNASTICS FOUNDATION

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Wendy started gymnastics at age 12. She trained through the Detroit Recreation Department with coaches from the former Soviet Union. She was the first Black athlete to represent the U.S. in international competition in rhythmic gymnastics and competed in three World Championships. In 2008, she was inducted into the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She was President of the Women’s Sports Foundation and coached 1996 Olympian Aliane Baquerot Wilson. Following her competitive and award-winning experience as a world-class athlete and coach, Wendy recognized the lack of gymnastic opportunities among urban youth, which inspired her to launch the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation.

The WHGF is a pioneering, black-led organization, trailblazing the path for international gymnastic champions. As a nonprofit, its unparalleled legacy lies in offering support and opportunities to youth through gymnastics. Often likened to an “HBCU” for gymnastics, it distinguishes itself through the diversity and excellence of its staff. Moreover, it’s remarkable for introducing thousands of underserved youth to gymnastics, enabling some to achieve incredible heights in a sport typically not located in urban centers.

The Foundation serves urban youth between the ages of 3 to 17. At WHGF, young gymnasts learn about time management, responsibility, teamwork, leadership, and sustainable health habits.

For more information, please visit https://www.wendyhilliard.org/. Visit Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.