On May 22, 2018, we delivered our beloved son Louis John “LJ” Piniella at 34 weeks. Sadly, he never had the chance to take his first breath. LJ was diagnosed early in our pregnancy with Down Syndrome, and suffered from a heart defect that ultimately caused his passing.

 

As we prepared for his arrival, we were told about GiGi’s Playhouse, a developmental center for children and adults with Down Syndrome. The more we learned about this amazing organization, the more we realized what an integral part it would have played in our family’s life. After LJ’s passing, we felt even more compelled to get involved with this wonderful organization and the Down Syndrome Community.  LJ’s life was short lived. Our hope is that by helping bring awareness to GiGi’s playhouse, we will not only be augmenting the lives of countless Down Syndrome children and their families, we will also be preserving our sons memory.

 

Since 2019, we have hosted the annual LJ Piniella Memorial Golf & Gala in Tampa, Florida, and in 2022, we were proud to create the Louis John “LJ” Piniella Foundation. Through the generous support of our family, friends and amazing individuals in our community, we have been able to provide GiGi’s Playhouse Tampa with essential resources to support the Down Syndrome Community in the Tampa Bay Area.

 

Through the combined efforts of our foundation and Gigi’s Playhouse Tampa, we can achieve our mission of positively impacting the world’s perspective of individuals with Down Syndrome.  Our ultimate goal is help create a world where children and adults with Down syndrome are ultimately valued, accepted and included as equals.