By: By Caroline Burleson
KENNESAW, Ga. - The Kennesaw State Owls softball team will host in-state rival Georgia Tech this Wednesday night at Bailey Park, but both teams will also be teaming up for a great cause during the Fifth Annual Lexi’s Night.
Eight-year old Alexis Kaiser, the granddaughter of former Georgia Tech basketball All-American Roger Kaiser, has been battling Cerebral Palsy since birth.
“The Alexis Kaiser Foundation is kind of a neat thing. It’s not real big; it’s not a huge thing. It doesn’t have corporate involvement or anything like that,” Owls head coach Scott Whitlock said. “The Foundation isn’t just trying to do things to help and enhance Lexi’s life, but it’s actually a way Lexi can help some other kids enhance their lives.”
Whitlock really wanted to find a way for the entire softball organization to give back to the community.
“I discovered little Lexi Kaiser because I am good friends with her father, Chip Kaiser, and subsequently became good friends with the entire family. One day, I was invited to play in a golf tournament that they were going to do for Lexi and the Lexi Foundation,” Whitlock recalled. “As I was sitting there listening to all of the things they were trying to do, it just stirred me to the point that I just knew that we, as a program, we needed to get involved and we needed to do something. I thought to myself ‘why don’t we have a day at the ballpark where we kind of honor Lexi?’ It really has become something special. I think a lot of times student-athletes don’t realize what kind an impact they can make on someone’s life. No matter their age or where they are in their careers, to somebody they’re a hero.”
The Alexis Kaiser Foundation began the tradition in 2010 of giving bicycles to children with special needs during Lexi’s Day, which is called Lexi’s Night this year since the game begins on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. Lexi was the first child to receive a bike, and last season, she helped present on the field a specially-made bike to another child with similar needs.
This past Christmas, the Foundation donated four iPads to children at three different schools in the Metro Atlanta Area. Tablets are growing in popularity for special-needs students because they can be customized to each child’s needs. The Foundation also helps to send kids to special needs camps. According to Coach Whitlock, Lexi’s Night is about raising awareness for Lexi and the Alexis Kaiser Foundation as well as, most importantly, other children with special needs.
“What we do, we use Lexi’s day as a chance, first and foremost, to bring attention to the hundreds of kids in the Metro Atlanta Area that are dealing with things such as cerebral palsy. We try to annually honor and pay a special homage to Lexi, but more importantly, we try to make another person’s young life better that day. So next Wednesday night, we’ll be giving another young person a bicycle.”
For Lexi’s father, Chip Kaiser, that day in 2010 when Lexi got her very own bike is his favorite memory from the annual event.
“She was the first one to receive a bicycle at the softball game. I’ll never forget the smile on her face and getting to ride it around the field,” Kaiser said. “Her brother and sister were able to ride bikes and now she was also able to. It was great to see how excited she was to get to be able to do that.”
This year, Kennesaw State’s Student Athlete Advisory Council is taking ownership of Lexi’s Night. Student-athletes from all of KSU’s 16 varsity sports will be involved with making the event a success. To Whitlock, that is something he is very proud of and grateful for.
“We’ve seen it grow in not only the number of dollars we raise each year we do this, but we’ve seen it grow in terms of people’s participation and touching people,” he commented. “The student-athletes help sell the tickets for the dinner. Before the game, the softball players do a meet and greet with Lexi and the other young people we honor that night. They interact and they mingle. You see players genuinely affected by that. Both our players and the opponents have been great. We always let the opponents know that Lexi’s Night is ongoing and they always meet and greet the kids that night, too. It’s just us trying to give back.”
For a $10 donation, fans will get a ticket to the game, as well as a pregame meal provided by the Marietta Fish Market. All donations and ticket profits from the evening will benefit the Alexis Kaiser Foundation, which helps children with all different types of special needs.
This game in particular, for the Kaisers, having Georgia Tech as the opponent on Lexi’s Night makes it even more significant for them.
“Every year it’s a special game, but this year it’s even more special because it’s Georgia Tech,” Chip said. “My family has a lot of ties to Georgia Tech. That’s neat. It’s continuing to be a great time. You come out, the Marietta Fish Market gives you food, it’s just a good time and it’s a fun day.”
