Kelsi Elizabeth Long Memorial Foundation
About Us
Thank you for visiting the Kelsi Long web site. We would like to introduce ourselves, Brian and Jami Long, Kelsi's parents. Until now you may have never heard of Kelsi and may be wondering who she is and just what she did. To sum things up in just a few words, Kelsi was an angel sent to us directly from God. Although she really never made it into this world or even had the chance to breathe the same air, she changed the lives of everyone who knew her.
We were a little unprepared and were not exactly sure if we were ready to be parents, but we were elated to find our that we were going to have a precious baby girl. Like most expectant parents, we picked out patterns and dreamed of our future. But we never expected to come home from the hospital with only a sweet memory of the short time we spent with our little girl. You see, Kelsi was still born at 8 1/2 months due to Down Syndrome.
We were all devastated and full of questions. No one could understand why two young healthy people would have to face of problems of this nature. Everyone was left full of sorrow and uncertainty. We tried to be strong for each other and could only explain it like this; God needed a new little angel and he knew that we were strong enough to give it to him.
We tried to move on with our lives and pick up the pieces, but naturally something was missing. Friends and family tip toed around the mere mention of her name not knowing quite what to say. No one wanted to forget her, but they didn't want us to hurt anymore than we already were.
As a few months passed and our hearts we starting to mend, an awesome man came up with an awesome idea. Our dad, Michael Maddox, and president of the Kelsi Long Memorial Foundation, came up with a way for everyone to remember Kelsi by making something wonderful out of such a terrible situation. The 1st annual Kelsi Long Memorial Ride was held in March of 2003. Since then, there has been six rides with a combined total of approximately $50,000.00 raised for the children with Down Syndrome and special needs at MCG's Children's Medical Center in Augusta, GA.
With the help of several charitable churches and an extremely supportive local community, we have been able to expand this mission. Each year this event seems to swell with the cause touching the heart of more and more people. We would like to thank everyone who has supported this event for several years, and welcome those that wish to enjoy the blessings of this noble cause.
We were a little unprepared and were not exactly sure if we were ready to be parents, but we were elated to find our that we were going to have a precious baby girl. Like most expectant parents, we picked out patterns and dreamed of our future. But we never expected to come home from the hospital with only a sweet memory of the short time we spent with our little girl. You see, Kelsi was still born at 8 1/2 months due to Down Syndrome.
We were all devastated and full of questions. No one could understand why two young healthy people would have to face of problems of this nature. Everyone was left full of sorrow and uncertainty. We tried to be strong for each other and could only explain it like this; God needed a new little angel and he knew that we were strong enough to give it to him.
We tried to move on with our lives and pick up the pieces, but naturally something was missing. Friends and family tip toed around the mere mention of her name not knowing quite what to say. No one wanted to forget her, but they didn't want us to hurt anymore than we already were.
As a few months passed and our hearts we starting to mend, an awesome man came up with an awesome idea. Our dad, Michael Maddox, and president of the Kelsi Long Memorial Foundation, came up with a way for everyone to remember Kelsi by making something wonderful out of such a terrible situation. The 1st annual Kelsi Long Memorial Ride was held in March of 2003. Since then, there has been six rides with a combined total of approximately $50,000.00 raised for the children with Down Syndrome and special needs at MCG's Children's Medical Center in Augusta, GA.
With the help of several charitable churches and an extremely supportive local community, we have been able to expand this mission. Each year this event seems to swell with the cause touching the heart of more and more people. We would like to thank everyone who has supported this event for several years, and welcome those that wish to enjoy the blessings of this noble cause.
THANKS FOR VISITING AND PLEASE LEND A HAND!
