Shilese Jones, two-time world champion, and nationally recognized coach Sarah Korngold inspire and train local gymnasts at Becca’s Place Gymnastics summer camp
July 18, 2025Summer Camp 2026
January 25, 2026
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – A gymnastics facility in the Elizabethtown area that is making sure that kids have Christmas gifts this holiday season isn’t just about ‘what’s good,’ it’s about what’s right.
“It makes me feel really happy,” Vivi Avey and Maya Jones said. “I think about all the boys and girls that don’t get any presents.”
They may be young, but these Becca’s Place athletes are old enough to realize they’ve got it good.
And they know that some of their friends at school in the Elizabethtown area aren’t so lucky.
“I think about the children who don’t get the, like, you know, necessities that they need,” Vivi Avey and Maya Jones said. “How we get all of the things that we want and we need, and these kids are struggling to get things that they really need, and we want to make sure we get everything for them.”
This holiday season, this group of young gymnasts made their way to Target, loading up bags of gifts for their Angel Tree shopping event.
“So, they get to be part of that experience and learning about, you know, the value of a dollar,” Jennifer Ryan, co-owner of Becca’s Place Gymnastics, said. “But also, that gymnastics, kids who are in gymnastics, that’s a luxury. And these kids that they’re shopping for are just looking for necessities, and so, I think that’s a really important lesson to teach these young athletes.”
Ryan says giving back is part of their mission and has been since her parents ran this place for years.
“Service is one of our core values here at Becca’s Place, and so, we were always raised in a family where service is important and having a servant’s heart,” Ryan said.
This year, the Becca’s Place team raised more than $6,500 for this shopping trip, making sure that the final 50 children on the Salvation Army Angel Tree list in Hardin County have gifts under their trees.
Athletes turned altruists, hoping to do their part to spread some holiday cheer.
“And I think it just means a lot that we can just be together and have fun. It’s good to serve our community, also help kids and serve our community,” Vivi Avey and Maya Jones said.
Since Jennifer and her sister took over Becca’s Place Gymnastics in 2013, they have helped raise more than $60,000 to support the Angel Tree program in Hardin County.
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