Color of Wellness 5K Fun Run to Benefit Families Facing Cancer Held at Bloomer Park

Join Virtually or Run/Walk in Person

The COVID-19 crisis has been particularly devastating to local families facing cancer, with levels of food and housing insecurity surging as income drops. In response, New Day Foundation for Families created a COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support new services and the increasing need for financial assistance – and one local business is stepping up to help.

The Woodhouse Day Spa announces its first Color of Wellness 5K Fun Run, a fun, family event that will benefit the New Day Foundation for Families COVID-19 Emergency Fund. To be held Saturday, August 29, at 8:00 a.m. at Bloomer Park in Rochester, as well as, participants may join virtually with a favorite walk/run route of their own. Both experienced runners and first timers are welcome to attend the 5K Fun Run, featuring music, raffle prizes, and giveaways, with staggered start times for social distancing.

Registration for the Color of Wellness 5K is $25 per person, and for those who register by August 12, a race t-shirt will be guaranteed.

Proceeds will benefit the COVID-19 Emergency Fund at New Day Foundation for Families, a Rochester Hills nonprofit that offers financial grants in the form of short-term bill payment services, along with financial navigation services and emotional support programs for families as they face the burdens that accompany the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Sponsorship opportunities and information is available for the event through New Day via bethany@newdayff.org. For more information on the 5K Fun Run, call Woodhouse Spa at 248-564-9577.

“The impact of COVID-19 is multiplying the challenges already faced by cancer patients in our community,” said Gina Kell Spehn, co-founder of New Day Foundation for Families. “What we’re learning is potentially devastating to this population.”

According to a New Day survey of families from April 2020, 79 percent of patients had vital medical appointments delayed or canceled due to the crisis, while 87 percent responded that they are increasingly concerned about their long-term physical and mental health. Additionally, cancer families are increasingly facing housing insecurity (37 percent), lost income (54 percent) and concerns about food insecurity and shopping safely (47 percent).

In response, New Day pivoted to launch a volunteer-based grocery delivery program and restaurant meal delivery for families in metro Detroit facing food insecurity. The nonprofit also collaborated with the Islamic Association of Greater Detroit to offer food staples regularly from their Rochester Hills office.

“We’re grateful to Woodhouse Spa for their efforts to help us serve some of the most vulnerable in our community during these uncertain times – families facing cancer,” said Kell Spehn. “It’s a reminder that they are not alone, and people care. The Color of Wellness events are a gift for the patients and caregivers we serve.”

“This event is really important because cancer is a debilitating disease physically and the financial consequences can be devastating, especially now during this pandemic,” said Woodhouse Day Spa owner Anju Brodbine. “Our goal is to create a fun event that families can participate in while creating more awareness for this wonderful foundation that helps so many local families.”

The 5K Fun Run is the second Color of Wellness event hosted by Woodhouse Spa to benefit New Day Foundation for Families. In 2019, the Color of Wellness Beauty and Fitness Fair marked the first community event for the cancer support partnership between The Woodhouse Day Spa of Rochester Hills and New Day Foundation.

New Day Foundation for Families, a 2019 Top-Rated NonProfit by GreatNonprofits and Gold Level Guidestar organization, is a Rochester Hills, Mich. nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the effects of financial toxicity and emotional stress caused by cancer. Programs are intended to have a positive impact on treatment outcomes and survivorship.

Woodhouse Day Spa is Oakland County’s first and only organic-based, full-service luxury day spa with 20 treatment rooms and more than 50 services including massage, body treatments, facials and nails featuring organic seaweed and other natural and holistic ingredients. Woodhouse is located at 364 Adams Rd. in The Village of Rochester Hills. For more information, call 248-564-9577.