HEADstrong Kicks Off Turkey Drive Leading To Annual Thanksgiving Feast

For Immediate Release
Contact: Pat Colleluori
Phone: 610-461-5987
Email: [email protected]

 

HOLMES, PA – Beginning on October 1st and leading up to the Thanksgiving, the HEADstrong Foundation will be hosting their annual Turkey Drive, encouraging supporters to pledge $27.00 to fund a Thanksgiving meal for someone receiving inpatient care at the Abramson Cancer Center of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania this holiday. The $27.00 pledge will provide a delicious holiday feast with all of the trimmings, prepared by Rastelli Catering and served by HEADstrong’s dedicated core of volunteers.

Visit https://headstrong.org/shop/donate-a-turkey/donate-a-turkey/ to give the gift of a Thanksgiving meal to someone spending the holiday in the hospital.

This Thanksgiving will mark the 11th year that the HEADstrong Foundation will coordinator and serve the traditional holiday feast to the patients and families receiving inpatient care at the Abramson Cancer Center of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Annually, the Colleluori family alongside of a dedicated group of volunteers is involved with serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal to hundreds of patients, families and medical staff. HEADstrong’ s annual Thanksgiving feast is part of the organization’s HEADtable program, which serves meals, provides outlets of entertainment and recreational activities for in-patients and their families receiving cancer care at Philadelphia based hospitals.

HEADstrong’ s volunteer core transforms conference space on each floor to seasonally themed dining rooms. The rooms are event equipped with entertainment units, designed by Nicholas Colleluori himself to improve the inpatient accommodations on the floors. Families engage in much needed time together and even have the opportunity to enjoy Thanksgiving football games. Throughout the day HEADstrong President Cheryl Colleluori accompanied by their advocacy team of survivors once treated at HUP, travel the floors to delivery comfort kits and personally meet with every patient and their family to listen and provide support, empathy and a loving embrace.

“Spending the holidays in the hospital can be incredibly hard and depressing for patients. As a “family first” organization that exists to provide normalcy to families living with cancer, we embrace the importance of the family support network and the role that it plays on a patients wellbeing. Our hope is for our hero’s to find strengthen and inspiration in being around the ones they love and are able to temporarily escape from the realities of being inpatient for treatment. We have walked in the shoes of every patient and family spending the holiday on these floors and we want them to know that they are not alone.” Cheryl Colleluori, HEADstrong President and Nick’s Mom

For more information on the HEADstrong Foundation, please visit www.HEADstrong.org or follow on social @HEADstrongFnd.