Young Southington Gymnast Flips Out For School Supplies

SOUTHINGTON, CT — Simone Biles is still the so-called "GOAT" of female gymnasts in the U.S. following her dominant run in the recently completed Paris Summer Olympics.

But in Southington, she still needs to take a back seat to 10-year-old Evelyn Hawley, who, for the second time, has channeled her gymnastic talents to help out fellow schoolchildren, just in time for back-to-school.

On Aug. 3, Hawley and her family were at the Southington Town Green taking part in a school backpack collection drive for Southington Community Services.

The drive — called "Backflips for Backpacks" — aimed to collect not only backpacks, but school supplies as well, including markers, highlighters, pencils, pens, notebooks, glue sticks, and calculators, among other school items.

Evelyn first started flipping out for backpacks a year ago, with this year's event her second.

If you showed up at the green that day, Evelyn would do a backflip for you.

In all, according to Southington Community Services, she did 70 flips that day, with her gravity-defying prowess leading to a total of 128 backpacks full of items being donated.

Southington Community Services, the town's social services agency, will take those items and distribute them locally to families in need.

Department officials called it "one of the best back-to-school drives."

And who could argue?

While Biles brought home the gold for her gymnastics skills, Evelyn brought home the satisfaction of helping children in her community.

For more information on Southington Community Services, including donation information, click on this link.