Respondify wins Rep. Sarah McBride’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Delaware’s At-Large District.
Rep. Sarah McBride has named Evina Shingavi of MOT Charter High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Delaware’s At-Large District. Their app Respondify helps save lives by connecting trained volunteers to people in emergencies in real time.
When asked what inspired the creation of Respondify, Evina Shingavi said, “I was inspired to create Respondify after my dad saved our neighbor’s life during a medical emergency. My dad is a pharmacist and is certified in multiple medical procedures, and seeing him act so quickly made me realize how powerful trained help can be in those first few minutes.
‘When I looked at the statistics in Delaware and across the United States, I was shocked to learn that nearly 95 percent of people who experience sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not survive because help does not arrive in time. I knew I had to do something about it.
‘I wanted to make a difference not just in my community here in Delaware, but also across the United States and even around the world. I thought about how many people might have life-saving skills but don’t know when or where they are needed. Respondify is my way of connecting those people to the moments that matter most. It is built to give hope, save lives, and empower ordinary people to make an extraordinary difference when it counts.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.