Olympic Gold Medalist Visits Greenwich's Camp Simmons

GREENWICH, CT — For years, Laurie Hernandez has been a champion gymnast, winning at the highest level in the Olympics and other world competitions. Now, she's hoping to make young children become champion readers.

On Tuesday, Hernandez visited Camp Simmons in Greenwich as part of KPMG's Community Impact Day and Family For Literacy program. Hernandez is the program's learning and literacy ambassador.

KPMG is also celebrating its 125th anniversary, and decided to volunteer in communities across the country on Tuesday. Volunteers from KPMG's Stamford office were also at Camp Simmons with Hernandez, participating in various activities.

Hernandez, who won gold and silver medals for Team USA Gymnastics in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, read her children's book "She's Got This," to the campers. The book chronicles the story of Zoe, a little girl who wants to follow in the footsteps of a gymnast she saw on TV.

But Zoe attended her first gymnastics class and fell off the balance beam, and found out her dreams were harder to achieve than she originally thought.

"I think the biggest takeaway message is to keep getting up when you fall," Hernandez told Patch. "We have the physical representation in the book of this character Zoe wiping out pretty hard and wanting to quit, and her whole family encouraging her and actually telling her that falling is a good thing."

KPMG's Family For Literacy program was founded in 2008, and is partnered with First Book, a nonprofit that supports education, basic needs and wellness for children.

To date, according to KPMG Director of Community Impact Meghan Bracken, KPMG has given out 6 million books to children in need.

"Books in the home are one of the key indicators of a child's success in school," Bracken pointed out.

Hernandez said becoming an ambassador for the program was an easy choice.

" As a kid who was spoiled growing up, we had libraries of children's books. The thought of kids not having that was crazy to me," Hernandez said. "That opportunity was huge. I love reading, I love writing and I think it was a perfect fit."

Don Palmer, Camp Simmons director and vice president of programs and youth development of the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich, called it "amazing" to have Hernandez and others at the camp interacting with the kids.

"I hope the children go home and realize people in the community care about them, and they care about the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich," Palmer said. "I think today is a great message that KPMG is volunteering, and having an Olympian here is the cherry on top."