Voting for the Health Hero Challenge Finals Is Open!

Aaaand we’ve made it to the Final Four, folks! As of 10 a.m. today, the four finalists in the 2016 Health Hero Challenge are up for voting. You can cast a vote here.

If you’re new to the competition, here’s what’s been happening the past few months: Over the summer, we collected nominations from people all across the region, telling the stories of people working to make Philly a healthier, happier place to be. From those nominations, Philadelphia magazine editors narrowed the bunch down to our 16 semifinalists. During the months of September and October, we opened it up to reader voting; four semifinalists were up for voting each week and the winner of each week went on to the finals.

Since then, we’ve been busy at work creating videos of our four finalists so you can learn more about them, and we found out which charity each of our finalists is playing for in the final round. Whoever wins will get $10,000 for the charity of their choice, and the three runners up will each get $2,500 to the charity of their choice, so this round is all about giving back.

Now — drumroll, please — the folks who made it to the final round, along with their charity cause.

Amy Reed, Founder of Slay Sarcoma Research Initiative Inc.; victim of morcellation
Charity: Slay Sarcoma Research Initiative Inc.
Slay Sarcoma Research Initiative Inc. works to raise awareness and research funds for leiomyosarcoma, with the goal of finding a cure for sarcoma.

Dr. Hans Kersten, Pediatrician at St. Christopher’s Hospital; Hunger Fighter
Charity: Legal Clinic for the Disabled
The Legal Clinic for the Disabled is a non-profit that provides free legal services to low-income people with physical disabilities and to the deaf and hard of hearing throughout Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties.

Sue Weldon, Founder and president of Unite for HER
Charity: Unite for HER
Unite for HER is Philadelphia-based non-profit that works to make resources that enhance breast cancer patients’ wellness and care throughout treatment and beyond, like nutrition support, acupuncture, massage, yoga and counseling, more easily accessible by funding and delivering complementary therapies.

Drew Bergman, Mental health advocate with Minding Your Mind
Charity: Minding Your Mind
Minding Your Mind provides mental health education to adolescents, teens and young adults, along with parents, teachers and school administrators, in an effort to reduce the stigma and destructive behaviors associated with mental health issues.

Voting will run through 11:59 p.m. on Monday, November 7th and you can vote here once every day. (And don’t forget: You get to vote for a Health Hero VIP, too! You can learn more about this year’s VIPs here.) The winner will be announced live at our Health Hero Challenge party on November 16th. Good luck to our finalists!

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