Her life was little.
Her legacy won't be.
Leilani's Legacy was created in honor of a little girl whose life changed ours forever. Today we carry her love forward — helping families prepare for choking emergencies, expanding access to lifesaving resources, and walking alongside those learning to live with grief.
Education · Preparedness · Grief Support · Community
Leilani Elise
Her Story
Some people need a lifetime to leave a mark.
Leilani didn't. She was joyful, deeply loved, and a bright light in our family — a daughter, a little sister, and a life that mattered beyond measure.
At just one year old, Leilani died following a choking accident. In the aftermath, we faced a choice: let her story end with us, or find a way for the love she brought into this world to keep reaching other people.
Leilani's Legacy was born from that choice. We can't change what happened to our little girl. But through education, preparedness and hope, her story may help change what happens to someone else.
The Mission
Love became our reason.
Action became our mission.
Families deserve access to the knowledge and resources that matter when seconds matter. We bring practical choking education into homes and communities — and create gentle resources for families carrying grief.
Educate
Helping parents, caregivers and communities understand choking risk, safer feeding practices, emergency preparedness and the value of hands-on CPR training.
Equip
Expanding access to appropriate choking-response resources in families, schools, first-responder organizations and community spaces.
Support
Creating thoughtful resources — guided journals and children's books — that help families process loss, preserve memory and carry love forward.
Advocate
Using Leilani's story to start conversations about preparedness, without teaching families to parent from fear.
Our First Mission Field
Help us protect South Carolina.
One family. One school. One community at a time. Our work begins at home — bringing choking-preparedness education and resources to communities across the state, starting in the Lowcountry.
Give $5. Sponsor resources for a family. Introduce us to your child's school. Volunteer at an event. Become a corporate partner. However you show up, you become part of Leilani's legacy too.
Impact
The legacy is just beginning.
We're building this in public. Every number below will represent a real person, in a real family, in a real South Carolina community — and we'll publish them as we earn them.
Follow our journey as we build Leilani's Legacy across South Carolina and beyond.
Choking Safety
Would you know what to do?
Choking emergencies happen fast. Our goal isn't to make parents afraid — it's to help them feel prepared.
- Recognizing choking versus gagging
- Common choking hazards at home
- Safer food preparation by age
- Infant and child choking response
- Finding hands-on CPR certification
- Preparing every caregiver in your circle
Leilani's Legacy encourages every family to learn established choking-response techniques and CPR from a recognized training provider, and to follow current professional guidance on any supplemental airway-clearance device.
Free Download
Protect the people you love.
Our Family Choking & Emergency Preparedness Guide is free, practical, and made for real families — not for people who already work in medicine.
Check your inbox — the guide is on its way.
We'll send the guide and occasional updates from the foundation. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hope
When prevention isn't part of your story.
Some people come here to protect someone they love.
Others come here because they've already lost someone they love.
There is room here for both.
We create resources for people learning to live alongside grief — not to erase the person they lost, but to help them remember, express and carry that love forward.
The Hope Journal
A gentle companion through grief.
A guided journal created to hold the things grief makes difficult to say. Through prompts, reflection and remembrance, it helps readers move at their own pace while honoring the person they love.
Created by Leilani's Legacy Foundation
A Little Life. A Lifetime of Hope.
Coming Soon
Something special is being created.
We're writing a children's story inspired by Leilani, her siblings, and a very special sloth that helped our family carry something we couldn't put into words.
A story about missing someone.
Remembering someone.
And discovering that love can still be carried
when someone is no longer here to hold.
Get Involved
There are many ways to leave a legacy.
You don't have to share our story to become part of it.
Partner
Schools, businesses, hospitals, first responders and churches multiply the mission.
Partner with us →
One year can change the world.
Leilani's life was brief. But the measure of a life has never been how long someone was here. It's the love they leave behind.
Every family educated.
Every parent empowered.
Every resource placed.
Every grieving person reminded that hope still exists.
And someday, God willing, every life that continues because someone knew what to do — becomes another piece of her legacy.
A Little Life. A Lifetime of Hope.
Our Story
Before there was a foundation,
there was a little girl.
Her name was Leilani Elise.
It means "Royal Child of Heaven." To us, she was simply ours — a daughter, a baby sister, a source of joy, a little girl deeply loved by her family. She didn't need decades to leave her mark on this world. She did it in one beautiful year.
Meet Leilani
Before we tell you how Leilani died, we want you to know how she lived.
She was loved beyond words. She had siblings who adored her, parents who treasured her, and a family full of plans for all the ordinary moments we assumed were still ahead of us.
Birthdays.
First days of school.
Family vacations.
Christmas mornings.
Growing up alongside her siblings.
The thousands of small moments you don't realize are extraordinary until you'd give anything to have one more.
Leilani was here. And her life mattered.
That is the part of her story we never want the way she died to overshadow.
The Day Everything Changed
In an instant, our lives divided into two parts.
Shortly after her first birthday, our family experienced something no family imagines will become part of their story. Leilani died following a choking accident.
Before Leilani died.
And after.
There are no words capable of fully explaining what it means to lose a child. But eventually, underneath the grief, another question began to surface:
What do we do with all this love now?
We couldn't change what happened. We couldn't rewrite our daughter's story. But perhaps we could change what happened next.
From Grief to Purpose
Leilani's Legacy was born from love.
Not fear. Not anger. Love.
We began learning everything we could about choking, emergency preparedness, CPR training and the resources available to families. And we realized something simple: knowledge matters, preparation matters, access matters.
So we decided Leilani's name would keep entering homes, schools and communities — not because of the tragedy that ended her life, but because of the lives her story might help protect.
Our Mission
We turn love into action.
Leilani's Legacy exists to help families and communities become more educated, prepared and empowered around choking emergencies — while offering hope and meaningful resources to those navigating grief.
Education
Making choking-prevention and preparedness information accessible and genuinely understandable.
Preparedness
Helping families and organizations access training and appropriate emergency-response resources.
Grief Support
Creating journals, children's resources and tools that give people space to process loss.
Community
Bringing families, schools, first responders and businesses together around education and hope.
Why Hope?
Hope doesn't require pretending it didn't hurt.
Hope isn't forgetting. It isn't replacing someone. It isn't finding a silver lining in something devastating. Sometimes hope is much smaller than that.
Sometimes hope is getting out of bed.
Saying their name.
Telling another story about them.
Helping someone because of what you've learned.
Laughing again without feeling guilty.
Or discovering that although grief changed your life, love can still shape what you do with the life in front of you. That is the kind of hope we believe in.
A Legacy Her Siblings Carry Too
She is a sister.
Leilani's story doesn't belong only to her parents. Her siblings carry their own memories, questions, love and grief.
Our family has learned that children don't always communicate grief through words. Sometimes it's play. Questions. Silence. Stories. Objects. Sometimes it's as simple as a hug.
After Leilani died, our family was given a weighted sloth that matched what Leilani weighed when she was born. It became deeply meaningful to her siblings — something tangible to hold when their arms couldn't hold her.
That experience is now inspiring another part of her legacy: resources created specifically for grieving children and siblings, including a children's story we're writing now.
The Legacy We're Building
We are starting in South Carolina.
We don't intend to stop there.
Where we want to be
Homes. Schools. Childcare centers. Churches. Community spaces. First-responder organizations. Anywhere people responsible for the lives of others gather.
What we want to see
Parents who feel prepared rather than afraid. Caregivers who know what to do when seconds matter. Organizations that take choking preparedness seriously.
How we'll measure it
Families educated. People trained. Resources placed. Schools reached. First responders supported. Grieving families served. Behind every one is a family whose story continues.
Why Her Name
Someday, families who never met Leilani will know her name.
Not because of how she died. Because of what happened because she lived.
A parent who became CPR certified.
A teacher who knew what to do.
A family who became better prepared.
A grieving sibling who finally found words.
A community that decided preparedness mattered.
And someday, perhaps, a life that continues because the right person had the right knowledge at the right moment. That is legacy.
A Note From Leilani's Mom
If I could have chosen Leilani's legacy, I would have chosen something very different. I would have chosen to watch her create it herself.
I would have watched her grow up, discover who she was, make mistakes, fall in love, find her purpose, and leave whatever mark on this world she chose.
I wasn't given that choice. But I was given the privilege of being her mother. And as long as I have a voice, I can make sure hers isn't forgotten.
I don't want families to hear Leilani's story and become afraid. I want them to become informed. I don't want grief to be the end of our family's story. I want love to become action.
And I don't want the world to remember Leilani simply as a little girl who died. I want the world to know that she lived — and because she lived, maybe another person gets to live too.
— Asia, Leilani's Mom
Her story started with our family.
Her legacy can include yours.
You can help us educate. Equip. Support. Serve. And help turn one little life into a lifetime of hope.
Leilani Elise
Forever loved. Forever remembered. Forever making an impact.
Protect
Prepared,
not afraid.
Choking happens quickly. Knowing how to reduce risk, recognize a real emergency, and respond appropriately can make a critical difference. Our goal is not to frighten families. It's to help them feel ready.
In an emergency
Call 911 first.
If a person cannot breathe, cough, cry or speak, treat it as an emergency and call 911 immediately. Nothing on this page replaces emergency medical care or hands-on certification from a recognized training provider.
Medically reviewed by [Name, credentials] · Last reviewed [Date]
The Basics
Choking and gagging are not the same thing.
Gagging is a protective reflex, and it's common while a child is learning to eat. A gagging child may cough, make noise, or look uncomfortable.
Severe choking means the airway is blocked. The person may be unable to breathe, cough effectively, cry or speak.
One thing to remember
Noise means air is moving.
Silence can signal an emergency.
Because response steps differ by age and situation, we link directly to current guidance from the American Red Cross and American Heart Association rather than trying to replace hands-on training.
Learn what to do →Reduce the Risk
Small changes make mealtimes safer.
No parent can eliminate every risk. But we can all become more aware of the ones that matter most.
Education without fear.
Preparation without panic.
- Seat children upright while eating.
- Supervise young children during meals and snacks.
- Encourage eating slowly, without distraction.
- Avoid eating while running, playing or riding in a moving vehicle where practical.
- Prepare food to suit the child's developmental stage, not just their age.
- Be especially careful with foods that are hard, round, sticky or difficult to chew.
- Keep small non-food objects out of reach.
- Make sure everyone who cares for your child knows your family's expectations.
Common Hazards
What to watch for.
Food
- Whole grapes
- Hot dogs
- Nuts & seeds
- Popcorn
- Hard candy
- Chunks of meat
- Cheese cubes
- Raw hard vegetables
- Spoonfuls of nut butter
- Marshmallows
- Whole cherry tomatoes
Non-food items
- Coins
- Small toy pieces
- Button batteries
- Balloons
- Beads
- Marbles
- Bottle caps
- Magnets
- Pen caps
Food should always be prepared according to a child's individual developmental abilities. No single cutting technique makes any food universally safe.
If Someone Is Choking
Know before you need to know.
Leilani's Legacy strongly encourages parents, grandparents, babysitters, educators and caregivers to become trained in age-appropriate choking response and CPR through a recognized training provider. This page is a starting point, not a substitute for that training.
Activate emergency services
Call 911 as soon as a real airway obstruction is suspected — or have someone else call while you respond.
Use established techniques
Apply the age-appropriate choking response you were taught in certification. Infant response differs from child and adult response.
Don't stop
Follow current emergency guidance until the obstruction clears or professional help takes over.
Train before you need it
Take a CPR and first-aid course now, while nothing is wrong. Reading is not the same as practicing.
Anti-Choking Devices
Authorized as a second line — not a first response.
In March 2026, the FDA granted LifeVac a De Novo classification under 21 CFR 874.5400, creating a new device category: a suction anti-choking device for use as a second-line treatment. It is a Class II device — non-powered, non-invasive and single use — authorized for choking victims one year and older, and usable by any adult in homes, schools, restaurants and care settings.
Read the authorization closely and it makes the case for training stronger, not weaker. The FDA's own indication is for use after a standard basic life support choking protocol has been attempted and has not worked. A device is what you reach for when the training you already have hasn't cleared the airway.
Call 911.
Do what you were trained to do.
Then reach for the device.
Leilani's Legacy places LifeVac units in schools, churches and community spaces alongside training — never instead of it. We follow the manufacturer's instructions and the FDA's authorized indication, and we don't make claims beyond them.
We don't say: "Buy this device and your child is safe."
We say: "Build layers of preparedness — training first, device second."
FDA De Novo DEN250012, granted March 4, 2026. Product code QXN.
What the record shows
Save totals are reported by the manufacturer through its voluntary reporting program, not independently audited, and each represents a case where standard choking protocol had already been attempted. We share the figure as reported and label it that way — the honesty matters more to us than the number.
The Leilani Standard
Six habits of a prepared family.
Learn
Understand the choking risks that actually apply to the ages in your home.
Prevent
Build safer habits into everyday routines, not just special occasions.
Train
Get certified in CPR and age-appropriate choking response.
Prepare
Make sure every caregiver in your circle knows what to do.
Equip
Consider appropriate emergency resources for your home or organization.
Share
Teach another family what you've learned.
Preparedness becomes more powerful when we pass it on.
Who Needs to Know
One trained parent is wonderful.
A prepared village is better.
Think about everyone who may care for your child this year.
- Grandparents
- Babysitters
- Older siblings
- Teachers
- Daycare providers
- Coaches
- Church nursery volunteers
- Family friends
Free Download
The Caregiver Safety Card
Someone else watching your child? Don't assume they know what you know. Print it, fill it in, and leave it on the counter.
Includes: child's name and date of birth, allergies, emergency contacts, pediatrician, medications, a QR code to choking-response guidance, and space for your own instructions.
On its way — check your inbox.
Take a Class
Reading about CPR isn't the same as practicing it.
We're building a directory of certified training partners across South Carolina. Choose a community to find hands-on classes near you.
Charleston
Partners coming soon
Summerville
Partners coming soon
Columbia
Partners coming soon
Greenville
Partners coming soon
Myrtle Beach
Partners coming soon
Spartanburg
Partners coming soon
Rock Hill
Partners coming soon
Florence
Partners coming soon
Certified instructor? Apply to become a training partner →
Beyond Your Home
Prepared families create prepared communities.
The Parent Pledge
I choose preparedness over fear.
I can't protect the people I love from everything.
But I can learn.
I can prepare.
I can practice.
I can share what I know.
And I can help another family do the same.
Thank you. Your shareable pledge graphic is on its way — tag us with #LeilanisLegacy.
Why We Teach
For Leilani. For yours. For all of them.
We share this because we know what it's like to wish a story had ended differently. Fear cannot be the legacy we leave behind. Education can be. Preparedness can be. Action can be. Hope can be.
A Little Life. A Lifetime of Hope.
Our Work
Programs built to outlast us.
An awareness campaign ends when attention moves on. We're building infrastructure: training partners, placed resources, and programs a community can keep running long after our family stops posting about them.
Program 01
Safe Schools
We work with schools and districts to make choking preparedness part of normal staff readiness — response guidance in cafeterias and classrooms, training access for staff, and preparedness resources placed where children eat.
Bring this to my school →Program 02
First Responders
We partner with local fire, EMS and law-enforcement organizations to support community preparedness events, training days and public education across the Lowcountry.
Partner with us →Program 03
Safe Spaces
Churches, childcare centers, gyms and community organizations care for children every week. We help them build a preparedness plan and equip their nurseries and classrooms.
Prepare our space →Program 04
Sponsor a Family
Sponsorships cover education materials, caregiver resources and preparedness supplies for families who couldn't otherwise access them — especially new and expecting parents.
Sponsor a family →Impact
A legacy we can measure.
We publish only what we can verify. Every number represents a person, and every person represents a family.
We deliberately don't publish a "lives saved" counter. Outcomes like that can't be verified honestly, and this foundation's credibility matters more than an impressive number.
Events
Where you'll find us.
Signature Event
The Leilani's Legacy Golf Tournament
Summerville Country Club · Summerville, SC
A four-person scramble played from the white tees, with hole contests, sponsor signage and an awards ceremony. Proceeds place choking-preparedness resources in South Carolina schools, churches and community spaces.
Community
Preparedness days & training events
We show up at churches, schools, first-responder open houses and community festivals with education, caregiver cards and hands-on training partners.
Hosting something in the Lowcountry? We'd love to be there.
Transparency
Where the money goes.
Donors deserve to know exactly what their gift does. As programs launch, this page will publish an annual report and a plain-English breakdown of program, fundraising and administrative spending — and our IRS Form 990 once tax-exempt status is granted.
Leilani's Legacy Foundation LLC · EIN 42-4327754 · Organized in South Carolina, August 5, 2026 · Tax-exempt status pending.
The Hope Shop
Every product carries the mission.
We don't sell merchandise to run a store. Every item here either helps someone prepare, helps someone grieve, or helps someone remember — and every purchase funds the programs that do the same.
The Hope Journal
Available now
A guided journal for anyone learning to live alongside grief. Prompts, reflection and remembrance, at your own pace.
Funds grief resources for families served by the foundation.
Children's Grief Book
In development
A story inspired by Leilani, her siblings, and a weighted sloth — written for children who are missing someone.
Places a free copy with a grieving family for every copy sold.
Family Safety Kit
Coming soon
Choking-hazard reference, age-by-age food prep guide, caregiver cards and emergency contact sheets for the fridge.
Sponsors a kit for a family who can't afford one.
First-Time Parent Bundle
Coming soon
Everything a new family needs to feel prepared instead of anxious — a genuinely useful baby-shower gift.
Funds preparedness education for new parents.
Caregiver Safety Cards
Coming soon
A printed set for grandparents, babysitters and anyone else who watches your child.
Distributes cards free at community events.
Legacy Apparel
Coming soon
Quiet, wearable pieces that start conversations — "A Little Life. A Lifetime of Hope."
Funds general foundation operations and events.
Be first to know.
We'll email you when The Hope Journal ships and when the children's book is ready.
You're on the list. Thank you.
Get Involved
You don't have to share our story to become part of it.
Give
Choose your gift.
Every dollar goes toward education, training access and preparedness resources for South Carolina families.
Leilani's Legacy Foundation LLC is organized in South Carolina. Tax-exempt status is pending, so gifts are not currently tax-deductible as charitable contributions. You'll receive a receipt by email, and we'll tell you the moment that changes.
Give in memory or in honor
Make a gift in someone's name — a birthday, an anniversary, a child you love. We'll send a card to the family you choose.
Make a tribute gift →Corporate partnership
Sponsor a program, match employee giving, or put preparedness resources in your own workplace.
Request the partner packet →Volunteer
Help at events, assemble kits, staff a table, or lend a professional skill. We especially need medical professionals and CPR instructors.
Volunteer →Fundraise for us
Birthdays, races, church groups, classroom drives — turn something you're already doing into support for a family.
Start a fundraiser →Host us
Invite Leilani's Legacy to speak or set up at your school, church, business or community event.
Invite us →Become a training partner
Certified CPR and first-aid instructors can join our South Carolina directory and reach families looking for classes.
Apply →Signature Event
The Leilani's Legacy Golf Tournament
Summerville Country Club · Summerville, South Carolina
A four-person scramble from the white tees, with hole contests, sponsor recognition and an awards ceremony where we place preparedness resources directly with a local partner organization.
Sponsorship levels
- Presenting sponsor — event naming, banner, four teams
- Awards ceremony sponsor — recognition at the presentation
- Team sponsor — four players, signage, recognition
- Hole sponsor — tee signage at a contest hole
- In-kind — prizes, food, printing, beverages
Request the sponsorship packet for pricing and deadlines.
Her legacy grows every time someone learns something.
If you can't give today, you can still be part of this. Take the pledge, download the free guide, and teach one other family what you know.
Contact
We'd love to hear from you.
Whether you want to bring preparedness training to your school, sponsor an event, volunteer, or simply tell us about someone you love — this reaches our family directly.
Email
hello@leilanislegacy.org
Mail
Leilani's Legacy Foundation
[Address], South Carolina [ZIP]
Media & speaking
press@leilanislegacy.org