
The WHGF is changing that.”Īs the captain of the Detroit Metro Gymnasts, Wendy traveled the world representing Detroit and was the first African-American to represent the United States Rhythmic Gymnastics team, of which she was a member for a record setting nine times. “Gymnastics is one of the most popular Olympic sports but it is expensive and not very accessible in urban areas. I use gymnastics to teach good health, discipline and critical skills that give youth the confidence they need as they pursue their dreams in life,” said WHGF Founder, Wendy Hilliard. “My gymnastics training through the Detroit Recreation Department changed my life. This served as the road map for WHGF and inspired Wendy to create high quality programs at the grassroots level to ensure the next generation of underserved youth had the opportunity to succeed in gymnastics as she did. Gwen Hilliard also organized the Friends of DMG to raise money and host events for the team to cover travel costs. The result was the award-winning Detroit Metro Gymnasts (DMG) program, which developed National Champions, National Team Members, World Championship Competitors, a two-time Olympian and U.S.

Gwen Hilliard worked as an administrator in the Detroit Public School System and convinced the Detroit Recreation Department to hire two Champion gymnastics coaches from the Soviet Union who were working in the suburbs. Gwen Hilliard, who will receive a posthumous proclamation from the Detroit City Council at her memorial service on February 9, 2019. Her advocacy efforts to create opportunities for urban youth to have access to gymnastics were inherited from her role model, her mother, Mrs. The partnership comes out of a multi-generational relationship between Detroit native, Wendy Hilliard and the City of Detroit Recreation Department. With the 2019 expansion, the WHGF Detroit provides after school gymnastics classes to over 200 students per week through GOAL Line Detroit, a City-sponsored pilot program in Northwest Detroit which offers transportation and after school enrichment programs to students attending participating K-8 schools, and through the Boll Family YMCA of Metro Detroit. When the WHGF first launched in Detroit in 2016, Saturday gymnastics classes were offered once per week at the Joe Dumars Field House. Registering for weekly gymnastics classes will only cost $20 for Kemeny Center members. Because of its success and popularity since first launching in Detroit in 2016, WHGF programming will now be offered weekly at the Kemeny Recreation Center.
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The WHGF, a nonprofit organization that provides free and low-cost quality gymnastics programming for urban youth, is expanding its programming through classes offered at the City’s newly renovated Kemeny Recreation Center for students ages 3-17.
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By expanding her foundation to serve hundreds of youth in Detroit, Wendy is returning to her roots and coming full circle. Gymnastics legend and advocate Wendy Hilliard, founder and CEO of Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF), trained at Detroit Recreation Department and went on to become the first African-American to represent the U.S.

Leaving a Lasting Legacy Across Generations: Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation Returns to its Roots, Expands Gymnastics to Detroit Recreation Department’s Kemeny Center.ĭetroit native Wendy Hilliard, founder and CEO of Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, trained at Detroit Recreation Department and went on to become the first African-American to represent the U.S.
