10th Annual Matt Kell Golf Tourney & Legacy Celebration to benefit New Day Foundation

After Rochester father and husband Matt Kell lost his battle with cancer in 2005, a group of friends hosted a golf tournament in his memory. The event unexpectedly raised more than $55,000 for charity – and inspired the creation of The New Day Foundation for Families. Ten years later, the non-profit continues to thrive, committed to reducing the financial and emotional burdens on cancer patients and their families while they are in the fight against cancer.

In celebration of the life and legacy of Matt Kell, the 10th Annual Matt Kell Golf Tourney & Legacy Celebration will be held on Monday, September 21, 2015, at The Wyndgate Country Club, 1975 West Gunn Road, Oakland Township. Golf registration begins at 10:30 a.m.; Legacy Celebration registration begins at 6:00 p.m. The golf tournament includes an 18-hole tournament scramble on one of two stunning Wyndgate golf courses. A grill lunch and putting contest begin at 11:00 a.m., with the shotgun start at noon. Guest will enjoy drinks and contests on the course.

Afterward, guests are invited to celebrate the life and legacy of Matt Kell with a “shabby chic” event that will memorialize Matt and feature a few of his favorite things including a delectable strolling dinner, top shelf cocktails, the enchanting Ben Sharkey Quartet, dancing, incredible raffle prize packages, live auction, a special visit from Michigan State’s own Sparty and much more. Tickets for the Legacy Celebration are $125 per person; individual golfer tickets for the West Wynd course are $200 per person. For more information or to register in advance, visit https://www.foundationforfamilies.org/events/mattkellgolf.

Michael Spehn and Gina Kell Spehn (Executive Director) are the co-founders of New Day. Married in 2007 after each being widowed with young children, the legacies of their first spouses, Matt Kell and Cathy Spehn, who both died of cancer only six weeks apart, live on through New Day and are shared in their NY Times Bestselling book, The Color of Rain. This heartbreaking, yet hope-filled story of how two families found faith, hope and love in the midst of tragedy, is the catalyst behind New Day. In 2014, The Color of Rain was adapted for television and became the highest rated original movie in Hallmark Movie Channel history.

“I love seeing how the life and faith of one ordinary man can so profoundly bless and transform lives even ten years later,” said Gina Kell Spehn. “It’s a privilege to carry forth Matt’s legacy as it exemplifies and touches the source of generosity that lives in all of us.”

The New Day Foundation for Families is a Rochester, Michigan, non-profit organization dedicated to helping families who have children under the age of 18 in the home as they face the many physical, emotional, and financial challenges that accompany the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. New Day seeks to alleviate immediate financial burdens in order to provide hope and stability in the midst of crisis, often providing rent or mortgage, auto or home repair, utility payments, counseling services, cleaning services, or grocery and fuel gift cards.