Meet the Faces Behind the Mission
Kenny Infante | Founder
Educator, Coach, Athlete, Son, Brother, Father:
The Founder of Finnleigh’s Grace, Kenny Infante, encompassed all of these roles. But it was his role as a father which he took the most pride in.
Kenny’s last memory shared with Finnleigh was spent at one of her favorite places, the park. Kenny, Finnleigh, her sister Collyns, and grandparents, spent the afternoon enjoying a picnic altogether, not realizing this would be the last memory they would create together.
Kenny was ambitious, passionate, and quite the comedian. And, while he was always quick with a joke, Kenny took pool safety very seriously.
“I always knew about the importance of having a gate, but it was out of my control,” said Kenny. It was a Sunday afternoon when he received a phone call that he needed to get to the hospital immediately. While at a family member’s house, Finnleigh had made her way into the backyard, where she was able to access the pool. Shortly after, a family member found Finnleigh in the pool. They pulled her out and attempted to resuscitate her until the ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital. When Kenny received that phone call, he knew in his heart that Finnleigh was already with Jesus. A parent’s worst fear became a waking nightmare.
“No one should ever have to experience this,” said Kenny, as he discussed his inspiration to start the non-profit organization honoring Finnleigh.
“I don’t want another parent to have to feel this pain. All kids deserve a long life, full of experiences. I cannot bring her back, but I can make a difference. She would have wanted me to.”
After assembling a team to help create the non-profit organization, Finnleigh’s Grace was established in October 2019. The organization focuses on raising awareness, advocating for, and increasing access to pool safety structures among parents and caretakers of young children. Kenny’s vision is to drive change through tangible efforts.
After Kenny’s untimely passing in January of 2023, the organization he founded continued to persist, thanks in large part to the leadership and guidance of his sister Tacy. Elected Board President in February, she spearheaded an organizational realignment to set Finnleigh’s Grace up for sustainable success into the future. In doing so, we honor not only the Finnleigh’s memory, but that of Kenny, our Founder and friend, as well.
Kenny never lost his belief that increasing access to pool safety structures would significantly decrease the number of preventable at-home drownings. The impact Kenny strove to achieve through Finnleigh’s Grace is that, one day, pool gates will be as commonplace as diving boards.
