New Day Foundation for Families Has Been Helping Local Families for Ten Years

Hope Shines Gala to Benefit Families Facing Cancer

It started at a kitchen table, with a golf outing and one family, joined by the loss of their spouses to cancer. Today New Day Foundation for Families celebrates a decade of helping local families face cancer, providing financial and emotional assistance to fight the cancer related financial toxicity (CRFT) that can accompany a cancer diagnosis.

Join New Day Foundation for Families for the Hope Shines Gala at Detroit’s iconic Eastern Market Shed 5, featuring an exquisite evening of cocktails, live and silent auctions, dining and dancing on Friday, September 8, from 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Hope will shine for families fighting cancer as community leaders, businesses, survivors, families touched by cancer, volunteers and donors join together to have a positive impact on treatment outcomes and survivorship for cancer patients and their families.

New Day Foundation for Families for the Hope Shines Gala

Over the past decade, New Day has assisted nearly 400 patients and impacted the lives of over 1,400 individuals, including 770 children. Last year alone, New Day provided financial assistance and emotional resources to 148 families in service to 566 individuals. Due to the high cost of cancer, a health crisis can throw a family into bankruptcy or homelessness in just six months. As a result, cancer related financial toxicity (CRFT) is on the rise, linking the negative financial impact of cancer costs to a decline in positive treatment outcomes for the patient. According to recent studies, “cancer patients who go bankrupt are nearly 80 percent more likely to die than patients who don’t, and some cancers had significantly higher mortality rates.” ~Journal of Clinical Oncology

“When New Day helps families manage expenses, which often become unmanageable due to loss of income and increased expenses related to cancer treatment, patients will be more likely to adhere to cancer treatment, attend doctor appointments, fill prescriptions and maintain overall medical compliance,” said Gina Kell Spehn, Executive Director of New Day. “This ultimately leads to improved survival rates as we see a decline in CRFT among these families.”

Your Shot to get Hamilton Tickets

Tickets to the fundraising gala are $200 per person and a table of 10 is available for $2,000. A portion of all ticket purchases is tax deductible and sponsorship packages are available. To purchase tickets, visit the New Day Foundation Event and Auction Webpage. Free parking is available adjacent to Shed 5, which is located at 2934 Russell Street, Detroit, or the parking deck is available for a fee. The event will feature a “Pick Your Trip” raffle including the Hamilton in Hollywood package: a two-night stay in Los Angeles, airfare for two, and two Mezzanine seats to Hamilton at the Hollywood Pantages Theater. For more information, contact gina@newdayff.org.

The keynote speaker for the 2017 Hope Shines Gala is Carla Tardif, CEO of Family Reach, a national nonprofit dedicated to alleviating the financial burden of cancer. Family Reach was founded about two decades ago, so New Day likes to think of this organization as “New Day in ten more years,” said Kell Spehn. Working with more than 200 hospitals and cancer centers nationwide, Family Reach provides immediate financial assistance, education and navigation to families before they hit critical breaking points. Tardif’s Financial Treatment Project was recognized by Vice President Joe Biden’s Cancer Moonshot – when she was invited to join the VP on stage at the White House to share the program and give voice to thousands of families struggling with the cost of cancer.

Michael Spehn and Gina Kell Spehn 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.

New Day Foundation for Families, a 2017 Top-Rated NonProfit by GreatNonprofits and Silver Level Guidestar organization, is a Rochester, Michigan, nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the effects of financial toxicity and emotional stress caused by cancer. Their programs are intended to have a positive impact on treatment outcomes and survivorship. New Day offers financial grants in the form of short term bill payment services, as well as emotional support programs for families who have children under the age of 18 in the home as they face the burdens that accompany the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.