Presenting the Three Finalists for This Year’s Health Hero Challenge
Vote now through September 30th to help determine the 2025 Be Well Philly Health Hero.
The wait is over! We are thrilled to announce the three finalists for the 2025 Be Well Philly Health Hero Challenge presented by Independence Blue Cross.
We went from receiving hundreds of nominations to 10 amazing semifinalists — all of whom are helping others throughout the region live healthier lives — and finally to three finalists. Now, it’s time to choose the winner!
You can vote once per day now until September 30th. To help you decide who you think should be named the 2025 Be Well Philly Health Hero, read more about them and listen to their stories below.
Cheryl Colleluori
Who: Cheryl Colleluori, president of the HEADStrong Foundation and mother of the nonprofit’s founder, Nicholas “Nick” Colleluori.
Nonprofit of choice: HEADStrong Foundation, which Nick founded in 2007 — and is carried on by his family — to give cancer patients and their families access to care without the financial burden. After Nick was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma toward the end of his freshman year of college, he was driven to “bring dignity, support, and hope to patients and their loved ones,” Cheryl says. (Nick’s battle with cancer spanned 14 months. He passed away late November 2006.) The foundation’s key initiative is Nick’s House, which provides free, fully furnished housing to families who must travel to receive cancer care treatment in Philadelphia and Boston. HEADStrong also runs support programs, including weekly family-style meals, game nights, and other community-building activities.
Katelynn Devinney
Who: Katelynn Devinney, who started Pockets of Hope just over three years ago after her mom underwent a mastectomy. Devinney says she “wanted to be able to help other women going through what [my mom] went through. We remind these women that they are not alone, and each sweatshirt is a symbol of support from a community of survivors, volunteers, and loved ones.”
Nonprofit of choice: Pockets of Hope, which provides custom-designed zip-up sweatshirts with sewn-in interior pockets to hold the post-surgical drainage tubes that are put into place after a mastectomy.
John Matthews
Who: John Matthews, who founded Ride Hard Breathe Easy in 2019 in memory of his mother, who died of lung cancer. Prior to establishing the nonprofit, Matthews cycled across the United States to raise money and awareness for lung cancer.
Nonprofit of choice: Ride Hard Breathe Easy, which helps vulnerable lung cancer patients — those struggling to afford the basics that allow them to “breathe easier” — with things like getting a ride to an appointment, staying nourished, and keeping the lights on during the most difficult time of their lives, according to Matthews.
Vote for the 2025 Health Hero Challenge winner now!
