100 Faithful Friends Helps New Day Foundation for Families

New Day Foundation for Families, a leader in the fight against Cancer Related Financial Toxicity (CRFT), was chosen to receive a donation of $10,000 from 100 Faithful Friends, a Rochester-area group dedicated to making an impact in their community. The check was presented to New Day Foundation Co-founder Gina Kell Spehn by Lana Doneth, Nancy Benedettini and Steve Benedettini, all co-founders of 100 Faithful Friends. 

The group made their contribution standing in front of the New Day “Wall of Hope,” which features the photos of all the New Day families facing cancer that the nonprofit has reached this year. Since 2007, New Day has assisted over 400 patients and impacted the lives of over 1400 individuals. New Day went from helping 23 families a year in 2012, to 148 families in 2016, and is on track to exceed that number in 2017.

Photo of Benedettini and Steve Benedettini presenting an oversized check to Gina Kell Spehn

Lana Doneth, Nancy Benedettini and Steve Benedettini present a check to Gina Kell Spehn

“Our gratitude toward 100 Faithful Friends is overflowing,” said Kell Spehn. “The New Day mission is to have a positive impact on treatment outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients and their families. Our programs reduce the devastating financial and emotional burdens that accompany a diagnosis. Cancer Related Financial Toxicity (CRFT) is a life-threatening problem and we are part of the solution; New Day makes it possible for families to overcome this barrier to healing.”

The concept behind the “100” movement is that one person can make a difference, but together we can make a greater impact. 100 Faithful Friends come from all walks of life and different financial backgrounds. With at least 100 members contributing $100 each meeting, together they make a $10,000 donation to a charity or worthy cause. For more information or to join the group, visit www.100FaithfulFriends.org .

Based on a 2017 survey of recipient families, 91.4 percent reported that New Day was extremely effective in reducing the financial burden caused by cancer treatment and 86% percent reported that New Day’s programs eased the anxiety caused by these financial burdens. Without assistance from New Day, 77.5 percent of respondents said it would have been difficult to stay in their home.

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. They currently have a high school-age son facing brain cancer.

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 helping families overcome the harmful effects of Cancer Related Financial Toxicity (CRFT) by providing financial resources and emotional support for the purpose of improving treatment outcomes for cancer patients and their families. New Day believes no family should ever have to choose between cancer treatment and providing basic necessities for their family.

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.

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