‘These Kids Are Special To Me’: Simone Biles donates $20 million and breaks ground on homes for foster care siblings
Simone Biles spent time in the foster care system as a child, so as an adult, she wanted to be able to help kids like her.
“I’ve been a foster kid, so foster kids will always have a special piece of my heart,” Biles, 24, tells PEOPLE.
Accordingly, Biles started working with Friends of the Children, a nonprofit that pairs children with paid professional mentors, from kindergarten through high school graduation.
“I know how hard it is to be in foster care and to feel like no one is there for you. It’s really exciting to have somebody with you every step of the way,” the Olympic gymnast says. “That’s what Friends of the Children does: you have that mentor since you’re young all the way ’til graduation. They’re there for you if there’s no parent, you need a brother, a sister, a friend, they take that role on and they’re your mentor.”
Biles entered the Ohio foster system at age 3 after her biological mother, Shanon, lost custody of her four kids due to drug and alcohol use. Shanon’s father Ron eventually had Biles and her siblings come live with him and his wife Nellie in Houston. Ron and Nellie ultimately adopted Biles and her younger sister Adria when the four-time gold medalist was 6, while Ron’s sister adopted Biles’ two older siblings Ashley and Tevin.
Now, with Biles’ help, Friends of the Children will open a unit in the Texas city where she grew up. She celebrated the news at a Wheaties Breakfast of Champions in Houston in January and donated $50,000 to the cause in partnership with cybersecurity asset management platform Axonius.
“We’re bringing an organization here so that the kids in Houston get what they deserve: somebody to believe in them,” she says.
Biles also got to spend time with Friends of the Children mentors and kids on her Gold Over America tour in 2021, where she gave free passes to the organization. She met a mentor named Shambria Young, who Biles has stayed in touch with.
“Shambria had one of her friends here and her friend was like, ‘You can never move, I love you, I’m 14 now.’ And she’s been with her since she was 5 or 6 years old,” Biles says. “To see that they have these role models, these friends to fill that empty space or just add to your life was super exciting.”