The Ashleigh Mackay Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by Gail and Richard Aldersea, parents of Ashleigh Mackay Aldersea, a premature infant who died in February of 2001 at the age of 13 months. Despite a thriving start, Ashleigh died from complications arising from necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), an intestinal disease common in premature infants. The Alderseas realize that, while life-saving technology in this field has advanced by leaps and bounds, Ashleigh’s problem was just one example of complications that plague premature infants. And while they’re grateful for the outsstanding care that allowed their daughter to survive for as long as she did, they believe further research—and subsequent education of healthcare professionals—will save the lives of future preemies by solving these complications. To this end, Gail and Richard has devoted their time, energy and personal passions to raising money to fund such research. But research is only a part of the picture: much of the money raised for the Ashleigh MacKay Memorial Foundation will be used to help “preemie graduates” grow and thrive as well as educating the men and women who work with and love the smallest members of our society.