HEADstrong Foundation First NFL Athlete Ambassador: Chris Hogan

Emilia Rodowicz, Today’s Business

PINE BROOK, N.J. (July 28, 2015) – NFL Buffalo Bills wide receiver Chris Hogan joins the HEADstrong Foundation’s fight against cancer as an Athlete Ambassador. Chris Hogan is the first NFL athlete to join the list of sponsored athletes, including lacrosse stars Ken Clausen, Alex Aust, Kevin Buchanan, Joel White, CJ Costabile and Tom Schreiber. As an ambassador, Hogan hopes to introduce the HEADstrong mission of raising cancer awareness among the NFL community.

Aside from his success on the football field, Hogan attended and graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2010 on a lacrosse scholarship. Hogan decided to join the HEADstrong organization after hearing Nick’s story and realizing he may have crossed paths with him and/or his brother, HEADstrong Vice-President, Michael Colleluori, on the lacrosse field.

“Nick’s story and dream of what he wanted HEADstrong to become aligned perfectly with what I hoped to one day achieve in memory of my best friend’s brother who had passed due to cancer,” said Hogan. “I hope to assist the HEADstrong Foundation in raising cancer awareness by bridging the gap between the lacrosse and football community in order to unite against this deadly disease.”

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound wide receiver made 41 catches for a total of 426 yards and four touchdowns in 2014. This is a significant increase from 2013, when he caught 10 passes for 83 yards, according to The Record. Hogan has set higher goals for himself in the 2015-2016 season, which he hopes to achieve meanwhile spreading HEADstrong’s message to as many people as possible.

About HEADstrong Foundation:
The HEADstrong Foundation™ is a 501(c)(3) committed to being a resource for cancer patients and their families, helping them to navigate the harrowing ordeal of cancer by providing essential services to improve quality of life.

HEADstrong™ is an athletic rooted organization that serves the cancer community by granting direct financial assistance to those financially impacted as a result of the disease, by providing complimentary long-term housing and amenities for those traveling to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for cancer related treatments through Nick’s House™, by funding innovative blood cancer research through the Nicholas E. Colleluori Lymphoma research fund, by serving family meals and offering outlets of entertainment for those receiving care at hospitals, by delivering comfort kits to newly hospitalized patients preparing for treatment or transplant and by lending an arm of support through their peer to peer advocacy group.

The blueprints for the Foundation were conceptualized by Nicholas “HEAD” Colleluori in 2006, while he underwent treatment for non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, which ultimately claimed his life.  Today, Nick’s vision is being fulfilled through the relentless efforts of his family, athletes and supporters across the country uniting in the fight against blood cancers.

For more information on the HEADstrong Foundation and how they are Getting aHEAD of Cancer, click here or sign up to volunteer.