Headstrong Foundation Celebrates its 20th Anniversary

Everybody, welcome back into Philadelphia Live. I'm Jada Murray. And I mentioned that we've got a beautiful nonprofit to bring your way. They're celebrating their 20th anniversary and it's called the Headstrong Foundation. It really all began with a guy by the name of Nick Calilori. When he was a freshman in college, we hear he was diagnosed with lymphoma. And so the story starts there. But the way it's progressed and how it's grown out throughout the years, decades is really beautiful. So we're bringing in his brother, Pat, who now helps run the foundation. First of all, congratulations on 20 years. Do you mind telling us the story of your brother, Nick, and how everything got started? Yeah, thank you so much for the kind words. Back in 2005, my younger sibling Nick was living his dream of being a student athlete at Hofstra University. And just about two weeks into his sophomore year, our family was blindsided by his terminal cancer diagnosis. He was forced to withdraw from school to begin a new journey against cancer locally here in Philadelphia, where we're from. And unfortunately, what followed was 14 months of unsuccessful treatment. But his experience as a young person navigating cancer, his concerns for the well being of not only our family, but the everyday people that were going through this disease alongside of him. And also that stable of community behind him inspired him to create an organization to serve as the resource that he wished existed for our family and others. And it was really focused on accessing care and the challenges, the everyday things that stand in a way of people being able to receive the best care that they need. And so that's kind of the origin story. He conceptualized the organization from his hospital bed. He built our mission. I think being a young person, just 20 years old at 19, at the time of his diagnosis, 20 years old when we lost him, it was really a matter of understanding that there were these little things that were unplanned for that contributed to the bigger Struggles of families predominantly in the way of affordability and accessibility. And for 20 years, we've been providing those game changing solutions in real time for real families. It's mind-boggling to me, and I'm trying to wrap my head around the age that you just told me there. 19 years old when he figures out he's diagnosed, and for the next couple of months or a year, he's probably going through some of the hardest days. And instead of getting down and torn down about what he was experiencing, hearing that, he decided, I'm going to make a foundation. I'm going to make sure other people don't feel the way that I do. I'm going to make sure that we fight and we make sure that now about 40,000 families get the kind of care I wish I had. I think that is just simply incredible. I can't speak to other college kids that are thinking the same way. So bring me up to speed with 20 years later how you guys are still carrying his mission forward. Yeah, every day we execute a playbook that he conceptualized. We had no prior experience in philanthropy. We were just a family navigating things in real time and the struggles. I think that Nick was somebody that was very, he was a very charismatic person. He understood his value set. He was somebody that truly loved to support others and hold them up. In fact, His design for Headstrong was very much about. Keeping our family moving forward, especially in the wake of his passing. And so I've always considered and we've always considered headstrong a true gift. And for us, it's really about accessibility and understanding the complexities of cancer, the navigation. The leading cause of, or one of the leading causes of personal bankruptcy and home foreclosure, the unplanned for medical debt, the sudden change in people's lives, giving them the ability to endure. I think at the core of our mission is really focused on alleviating regret. Ensuring that families have every opportunity and a teammate in the fight that holds the rope for them, that allows them to go the distance, whether that is in providing financial relief, for emotional coaching and grief support. But most importantly, one of the flagship programs of our organization is Nick's House. We operate multifamily homes in three major markets that are medical destinations, Philadelphia being one, Boston being the other, and just a few. Short months ago, we opened our doors officially in Durham, North Carolina, expanding our philanthropic footprint into the Research Triangle. So key medical destinations and alleviating the The cost associated with those relocations, thus making it possible and green lighting the opportunities for families to fight forward. And so it's in the trenches with families enduring alongside of them and buffering that for them so that they can focus on the care of their loved ones and really creating game time solutions and in the most tangible way And it's beautiful. And I mean, for everybody listening and watching and you see the website there, you can imagine that being able to care for so many families over this long period of time, it has to cost money. So tonight I hear you guys are having a night for the Headstrong Foundation. It's your opportunity to raise some money. Can you talk to me about what this event is going to be like and the types of families that will turn out for you all? Sure. I'm down here at Switch House right now. We're getting things set up. It is going to be Just an awesome night. A very special and personalized one. Every facet of this event has been curated for just an amazing guest experience that really allows people to be woven into the fabric of our mission. And with this being our 20 years, there's a bit of history with this one. Our emcee this year is Mike Hall. Mike Hall is a Fox Sports Sportscaster, somebody who has played a very instrumental role is 20 years ago, he was the sportscaster on ESPNU that launched our story nationally. We have Alan Stone coming in and performing tonight. It's gonna be incredible. There's a bit of a celebration, of course. There's honorees. This year, we actually are honoring and surrounding a lot of support around our dear friend, Andy Summers, a WXTU radio personality who has just been by our side for many years and is now in her own fight. We're honoring a physician. Elise Chong with a Headstrong Achievement Award for the amazing commitment that she has not only made from a research standpoint, but also for the well being of her patients. And then we're presenting Alan Donato, Doug Trimble and Jared Smith with our Headstrong Spirit Award. And that is really focused on honoring people that are doing Phenomenal things to amplify our voice and in this case, what they've done for Headstrong across Major League Baseball has been just amazing. And there's an athletic undertone of our organization because of who Nick was. We today work with 425 collegiate athletic programs across the country and several Several. Professional sports franchises as well, and rightfully so. That was Nick's community, and it's neat to be able to see how Headstrong has been woven into the fabric. Tonight's an event to celebrate Nick. I think one of the interesting realities of 20 years is the fact that he's been gone now longer than he was here. I think every day we're met with that reality, but also the perspective of you're never too young to make a difference. And You can seemingly change the world by thinking about others first. And That's something that we go to work with each day here at Headstrong to get to share Nick and bestow the best attributes of him with others. And so we're really excited for tonight, we're gonna have a packed house, we're gonna have great entertainment. And just a really special night with all proceeds supporting Nick's house and our service mission, allowing families to come to Philadelphia to pursue life saving care without the expenses that oftentimes serve as barriers to access. I think this is so cool, Tennessee has dudes. Philadelphia has the Headstrong Foundation, so let's support local. I want to share a comment with you, Pat, on TikTok. Brenda J. LaMoure says, God bless them for giving back for 20 years. And for those of you guys who want to read more into the Headstrong Foundation, into Nick's house, I encourage that. All you got to do is go to headstrong.org. They're also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. So read up, do a little research, and decide if you want to get involved or maybe even donate. I'm going to sign at Pat. Thank you for making some time for us and also explaining your brother's story to our audience members who haven't gotten to meet you before. It's always a pleasure to have you.