Kansas City,
02
February
2018
|
14:31 PM
America/Chicago

Kansas City Star: Passion for babies leads local congenital heart disease advocate to Super Bowl

Kelly Manz
By Tod Palmer

Kelly Manz’s passion for helping babies with congenital heart disease, or CHD, is taking her to the Super Bowl.

Manz, a resident of Lee’s Summit, started a nonprofit called CHD Babies after her daughter, Chloe, was born with a heart defect in November 2008.

She’s championed a change in Missouri state law and raised nearly $85,000 through the Run for Little Hearts event she’s organized since 2014.

When she started a blog that became a full-blown website that spawned the nonprofit and gave rise to the annual charity race shortly after Chloe’s birth, Manz had no way of knowing it would lead her to the pinnacle of North American sports Feb. 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

But she’s thrilled for the opportunity.

“It’s an honor,” Manz said. “It really is. I try my best to raise as much awareness as I can. I’m very passionate about it — I mean, every single day. I finally found something I feel like I was meant to do, like my calling.”

 

Read the full article via the Kansas City Star here

Learn more about congential heart disease screening at Children's Mercy. 

Learn about pediatric cardiology services offered through the Ward Family Heart Center at Children's Mercy.