My name is Devin Mangum, and I came up with the idea of Heart Friends to help families affected by congenital heart defects. I was born with hypoplastic lift hear syndrome (HLHS). At 5 days old I had my first of five open heart surgeries. When I was 4 1/2 months old, I had a stroke, and I now have seizures. While I was in high school I was a football manager for my high school. I am now 25 years old. My goal is to help parents and families with housing, food, and transportation while their child/baby is in the hospital. HeartGift provides life-saving congenital heart defect surgery to children around the world where specialized medical treatment is either scarce or nonexistent.

Globally, 1 in 100 children are born every year with congenital heart defects. Over 90% of these children do not have access to the life-saving medical care they desperately need. HeartGift fills this gap, because where a child lives should not determine whether they live.

It is my mission to team up with HeartGift to make sure when they are receiving their life-saving medical care, the parents do not have to worry about room and board. I had great insurance when I was born, so I was able to get the life-saving medical care I needed to live. However, my parents still had to pay for food, shelter, and transportation to include parking while I was being cared for medically. I want to help take that worry away from other parents.