Five former William & Mary Women's Gymnastics team members have established the first endowment to support the W&M Varsity Women's Gymnastics program. Michelle Bolter Avery '98, Megan Hess Powers '02, Alison Tyler Spivey '93, Kiya Winston Tomlin '96 and Christina Colabella Wilds '00 came together to create the Thrive Endowment to ensure the team that had such an impact on their lives would flourish for all time coming. 

"William & Mary afforded me and my teammates the opportunity to participate in something we loved while also getting a world-class education," said Wilds, who led the effort to establish the new endowment. "We want that opportunity afforded to all the women that follow, who deserve that same experience to thrive at W&M and who deserve to know that they are valued and belong to the Tribe community." 

Funds from the Thrive Endowment will help cover costs for the team to participate at a national level and provide competitive funding for coaching positions and scholarships for student-athletes. 

"This is huge for our program," said W&M Women's Gymnastics Head Coach Kelsey Hinton. "We have never had an endowment set up for the team, and this level of sustainability and faith in what we do will have a tangible impact on our athletes and the entirety of women's gymnastics. This puts us back on the map." 

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Consider making a gift to Tribe Women's Gymnastics and help them reach their $121,000 FY23 fundraising goal.  For more information on how to make a gift or start an endowment, contact Jarrad Turner, Senior Associate AD for Advancement at jwturner01@wm.edu.