Cheryl Colleluori knows how harrowing — emotionally, physically, financially — a cancer diagnosis can be. When her son, Nick, was in his freshman year at Hofstra University, he was diagnosed with large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a form of blood cancer.
Nick entered a brutal, 14-month-long chemotherapy and radiation treatment plan and received stem cell transplants. Colleluori left her job to care for him and, at one point, the family relocated from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. so that Nick could seek treatment at the National Institutes of Health.
During this time, they met other families who were also struggling under the demands of the disease, including one family that was living out of their car while their daughter was receiving treatment at Penn. Nick decided he wanted to do something to help, so — in the midst of his treatment — he launched the HEADstrong Foundation to support families during their cancer journeys. He asked his mother to take over the foundation before he passed away in 2006.
HEADstrong celebrates 20 years this year. In that time they’ve helped nearly 40,000 families. What started as a desire to help others after seeing firsthand how financially ruinous cancer can be has grown into a nonprofit that offers lodging, financial, and emotional support to families facing cancer diagnoses and treatments.
HEADstrong has three houses — in Philadelphia, Boston, and Durham, North Carolina — where families who have travelled to seek treatment can stay, free of charge. They opened the Durham location this year. Last year, Philadelphia magazine honored Colleluori as one of the finalists in its 2025 Health Hero Challenge, presented by Independence Blue Cross.
On November 13, they’re holding A Night For The HEADstrong Foundation, an annual fundraiser to support the nonprofit’s work. Their goal: Raise enough funds to support the Nick’s House location in Philadelphia for the year.
“Our guests are traveling to the ends of the earth to attempt to save the life of a loved one,” Colleluori says. “You’re not able to work. You don’t get paid and the journey is not a common cold. It’s not over in a week. It’s months.”
During the event there will be both live and silent auctions with prizes, including trips to Aruba, Tuscany, and an Icelandic tour. The proceeds from a Night for HEADstrong support Nick’s House in Philadelphia, a fully furnished home where families can apply to stay for free if they’re traveling more than 50 miles to receive treatment at Penn, CHOP, Jefferson, or another Philadelphia hospital.
“Our guests are coming here on a wing and a prayer,” Colleluori says. “We want them to have a place that they can call home during a very difficult time in their lives.”
In addition, a Night for HEADstrong will give out three awards:
- Dr. Elise Chong, a hematology-oncologist at Penn Medicine, will receive the HEADstrong Achievement Award, given to a doctor who has supported a Nick’s House patient or made a major breakthrough in cancer research;
- Allan Donato and Doug Trimble of ACES Baseball and Victus Bats, who made custom HEADstrong Foundation bats for the All-Stars Game, will receive the HEADstrong Spirit Award, given to a person or organization that has supported the HEADstrong Foundation in helping the people they serve;
- And WXTU’s Andie Summers will take home the Nicholas E. Colleluori Award, for someone who has worked with the foundation during their cancer journey.
Summers first became involved with the Foundation after her sister was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma — same as Nick. Summers and Colleluori bonded over the physical and emotional toll the disease takes on patients and their families. She’s emceed a Night for HEADstrong for the past two years. This year, as Summers faces her own battle with breast cancer, the Foundation wanted to honor her for her commitment to the community.
“She really understands the importance of our mission and access and affordability to cancer care,” Colleluori says. “I hope that people are inspired and that, as they leave, they feel they’re taking a little piece of Nick with them.”
A Night For The HEADstrong Foundation will take place at the Switch House by Cescaphe (1325 N. Beach Street) on November 13 at 7pm. Tickets start at $350 for a single ticket and $3,200 for a table of 10. You can donate to support the organization here.
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