Fifteen years ago, Anne Catino faced the unimaginable. Her son Matthew Spade’s life was tragically cut short after a fatal accident — just four years after graduating from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 2006. Since that time, Anne, her husband Chip, her daughter Jessica and Chip’s children Nick and Eliza have worked passionately to keep the memory of Matthew alive by organizing the Matthew J. Spade Memorial Golf Tournament.
Remembering Matthew Spade
“It’s been rather cathartic,” Anne said. “We feel extremely blessed to have the support of our family and friends, the Central Catholic community and new friends we have met over the years. Together, they have helped our family turn something tragic into something positive.”
Proceeds from the annual tournament provide scholarship support for students from eight partner Catholic elementary schools to attend Central Catholic High School. The 15th tournament took place a few weeks ago on September 6th. Since its inception, the tournament has raised more than $170,000 in scholarship support.
“Central Catholic made a strong impression on our son Matthew and our daughter Jessica,” Anne said. “They both experienced an amazing amount of growth during their years there,
“If this scholarship can provide the help students need to attain a Catholic education and allow them to have a similar experience like our children – then it is well worth the effort.”
Creating the ACCHS Matthew J. Spade Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund
Earlier this week, Anne and Chip, along with Dennis Csensits and Adrienne Motley of Central Catholic Development and Alumni Relation departments, sat down with the Catholic Foundation to map out a plan for the future. They knew they wanted to sustain the scholarship support the tournament provided for partner school students and to keep Matthew’s spirit alive forever.
“We know we cannot run this tournament forever,” Anne said. “However, we didn’t want the ability to provide scholarship support to Central Catholic students to go away.”
With that in mind, Anne and Chip, created the Matthew J. Spade Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund with the Catholic Foundation. The purpose of the fund is to provide scholarships for students to attend Allentown Central Catholic High School with preference to students who are graduates of one of ACCHS’ partner elementary schools.
“It is heartwarming to see how this effort has evolved during the past 15 years,” Anne said. “We believe establishing this endowment fund is the next natural step.”
Forever Matthew
Anne and Chip were quick to point out that they will continue to work with Central Catholic and the Catholic Foundation to build up the endowment fund starting with the 16th golf tournament on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at Green Pond Country Club .
Interested in helping students from our partner elementary schools attend Central Catholic? Make a gift to the Matthew J. Spade Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund through the Catholic Foundation’s website any time.
