Erin Olmsted's Memory Lives on Through Gymnastics Meet

The entire community is invited to the fourth annual Erin Olmsted Memorial Gymnastics Invitational Saturday, Jan. 5, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the gold gym at Carl Sandburg High School, 13300 S. LaGrange Rd., Orland Park.

Funds raised at the event, hosted by the Olmsted family and the Sandburg High School gymnastics program, support the Erin E. Olmsted Scholarship Fund and the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM).

Those who donate a minimum of $20 will receive VIP seating and admission to the meet, which will feature 10 of the top high school gymnastics teams in the Chicagoland area competing in vault, bars, balance beam, floor exercise and all-around.

After Erin’s sudden and untimely death, her family used monetary gifts from family members; business associates of her father, Gerry, the Orland Youth Association and Orland Park community members, to provide scholarships to college-bound seniors at Sandburg High School. The outpouring of support from the community continued and developed into a 5K Run/Walk from 2006 until 2014. During that time, more than 500 runners and walkers participated each year. Coupled with other donations, the scholarship fund grew and the family was able to give more to student scholarships at Sandburg, to AAIM and give scholarships at Plainfield East High School, where Erin’s sister, Kate Morris, is an associate principal. The 5K has ended and in its place, a gymnastics meet and donation drive help to support the ongoing efforts to provide scholarships and support to AAIM.

“The 5K was very labor intensive and our wonderful committee consisted of our friends, who were retiring and moving away, and young women, who were starting their families,” said Erin’s father, Gerry. “We decided with the help of Mike White (Erin’s gymnastics coach at Sandburg High School) and the school’s gymnastics program to honor Erin’s memory with the gymnastics invitational and the donation drive, which Sandy (Erin’s mother) and I can administer ourselves.”

The move to a gymnastics meet was the perfect transition event as Erin was a highly accomplished gymnast competing at the state level and at Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics earning numerous medals and accolades. She also coached young children at Tumbling On USA in Orland Park. “So, after all of this, a gymnastics meet seemed appropriate,” Olmsted said.

“From the beginning, our family wanted to do something to honor Erin,” Olmsted said. “We wanted her memory to live on in the community she loved so much.”

To date, scholarships presented to students at Sandburg and Plainfield East High Schools have totaled more than $140,000 along with more than $120,000 given to AAIM, an organization that provides help to victims of drunk and distracted driving crashes through financial, emotional and legal support, as well as educating the public on the consequences of driving while intoxicated, impaired or distracted. More information on the organization is available on its website. “These causes are very close to our hearts and you can see we support them heavily,” Olmsted said.

The Olmsted family continues to receive an abundance of support from the community, something the family sincerely appreciates. “It is very gratifying to receive all the community support each year in Erin’s memory, especially from Dan McMillan and the Orland Gridiron Golf Classic, as well as the many individual donations we receive through our donation drive,” Olmsted said.

Persons who cannot attend the gymnastics invitational can provide support through a financial gift during the donation drive that runs through Jan. 30. Checks should be made payable to the Erin E. Olmsted Scholarship Fund and mailed to 15336 Teebrook Drive, Orland Park, IL 60462. Donations also can be made online at Erin's AAIM for Change. In addition, corporate matching gifts to the Erin E. Olmsted Scholarship Fund, a recognized 501(c) (3) public charity, are encouraged and appreciated.