Stringer's Widow Continues Husband's Volunteer Work At Elementary School

Jet, Sept 24, 2001

Kelci Stringer, the wife of the late Minnesota Viking Korey Stringer, has pledged to keep her husband's weekly commitment to volunteering at a local elementary school.

The lineman, who died last month of complications from heat stroke after football practice (JET, Aug. 20), volunteered every Tuesday for five years at Bancroft Elementary in south Minneapolis. During the two-hour visits, Korey served as a mentor for the kids by reading to them, talking about the value of schoolwork, playing on the playground with the kids and signing autographs.

"I'm going to continue with the reading program," Kelci told the students and teachers on their first day back to school. "You might not have Korey, but you have me.

"I think Korey would be real happy that we did this almost without a second thought, without having our arms twisted or anything. I don't want to do this just because it's a community situation. I'm doing it because I really want to do it," she said in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Accompanied to the school by Minnesota coach Dennis Green, offensive line coach Mike Tice and Vikings players, Kelci added, "It's the type of person Korey was. Korey really loved it over here. He really did. We used to talk about the kids. I knew all their names. This is good for me."