INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Former Indianapolis Colts center Ryan Kelly may not be playing for the Colts anymore, but he’s still making an impact in the Circle City.

“The beautiful gift of life of having children,” Kelly said. “If there’s a significant way – and we’ve proven, Count the Kicks has – to help alleviate pain or to eliminate stillbirths.”

Kelly, along with volunteers at Elevance Health, packed fuzzy socks, bracelets and much more into a thousand bags on Thursday, July 10, that were then sent to expectant moms.

Elevance Health Cares Executive Director Taylor Rhodes told News 8 Sports’ Andrew Chernoff that Kelly and his wife Emma are always willing to volunteer when asked by Elevance Health to help with events.

“They are such wonderful people to work with,” Rhodes said.

The Kelly family experienced tragedy in 2021 when Emma had complications 19 weeks into her pregnancy, which ultimately ended the life of their daughter Mary Kate. At the hospital, Emma said she learned that her daughter’s heart stopped.

“I was told there was no other choice but to deliver our baby next,” Emma Kelly wrote on Instagram at the time. “Ryan and I spent almost 48 hours in the hospital.”

Then in 2023, the couple had twin boys, Duke and Ford, just 27 weeks into pregnancy

“She (Emma) felt something different, went to the hospital and sure enough, there they are, in the NICU for three months,” Ryan Kelly said. “Now they’re – can report – that they’re two years old and they’re doing great. And they’re the happiest guys in the world.”

Since then, the Kelly’s have added another daughter to their family after Stella was born just last year.

The Kelly family continues to be big advocates for Count the Kicks, an “an evidence-based program that teaches expectant parents about the importance of tracking fetal movements.”

“This is so near and dear because of our story because we know what it’s like to walk out of the hospital with empty arms when you should have your baby,” Emma Kelly said. “So, it’s our mission hopefully so that no one else has to walk out with those empty arms.”

The work Ryan Kelly has done to help women and babies during pregnancy has helped him become an Elevance Health Champion. Previous athletes who have been named an Elevance Health Champion include Michael Phelps and Tamika Catchings.

“We’ve always kind of searched for our avenue as far as how we give back, and I think we’ve found it through our loss of Mary Kate, through finding Count the Kicks,” Ryan Kelly said.

It’s a cause that continues to be personal for the Kelly’s.

“Now that we know there are ways to save babies, we want to help save as much as we can,” Emma Kelly said.

Ryan Kelly signed with Minnesota Vikings this offseason after spending the last nine seasons with the Colts.

He, along with Emma, hosted a community baby shower this past November in Indianapolis.

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