About Us
Zipper Buddy Foundation was started by Kevin and Hannah Goumas who are heart warrior parents. In December 2023, their son, Brady, was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) and would need open heart surgery.
Brady was born with TGA- Transposition of the Great Arteries. Transposition of the great arteries is a heart defect that occurs when the two main blood vessels leaving the heart, the Aorta and the Pulmonary Artery, are in abnormal positions, creating oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to be flowing the wrong directions.
After Brady was born, he spent time in the NICU and then transferred to the cardiac intensive care unit, the CCVCU, at NYU’s Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital in NYC. On January 10th, just shy of one month old, Brady underwent his open heart surgery to correct his heart. Surgery was successful, and after 55 days (and a handful of complications) later, Brady was able to head home to Long Island.
Today, Brady is a happy and thriving 10 month old. He is cruising around by mode of crawling, babbling up a storm, clapping and trying to keep up with his older brother who he absolutely adores.
Kevin and Hannah are deeply rooted in their passion to make a positive impact in the day to day lives of CHD families. Being from Long Island, commuting into the city over and over again to visit the hospital was tough but, they knew compared to what so many other families do, they were fortunate in that way.
“We knew that’s where we could help. We were astonished to learn that so many families up-route their lives to move to the location of their child’s care- sometimes moving states away and living in airbnb’s or hotels etc. We can’t imagine the burden that those families face and that’s where the idea for the foundation was formed- to help ease that burden and make things just a little brighter for other families.”
- Founders, Hannah and Kevin Goumas
Zipper Buddy Foundation provides philanthropic support for families with a medical burden due to a child with a CHD. Through planned charitable events, partnerships with individual donors, organizations and corporations, we raise funds to help ease the burden. Together, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of children and families facing the same journey we did and continue to face.
