Matt Wheten's legacy lives on through charity touch football tournament

A touch football tournament organized in the memory of a young Sault man who died in a motor vehicle collision has once again raised some serious dollars for local charities.

In 2020, Matt Wheten was tragically killed in a motor vehicle collision at the age of 20. He had been a player on the Sault Sabrecats and St. Mary's College football teams, and for one season played on the same team as his younger brother Aaron.

After Matt's death, Greg Caruso and Matt Premo approached Matt's family with the idea of organizing an annual touch football tournament to give back to the community and help bring meaning to the sudden loss of the young man. Aaron immediately signed on to be a co-organizer for the tournament in his brother's name.

On Aug. 24, the Matt Wheten Legacy Tournament celebrated its fourth year with a well-attended charity event at Rocky DiPietro Fields.

"He always wanted to help people out and he was always the one that was gonna make you laugh," Aaron said. "He was there to put a smile on your face."

On Tuesday, Aaron and other co-organizers of the Matt Wheten Legacy Tournament presented a $5,500 cheque to SOYA, a street-level organization that supports people living with addiction and the effects of poverty.

This is the second year in a row that the tournament has given some of its proceeds to SOYA. Last year, the local chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters was also a recipient of funds from the tourney and it will also benefit this year.

In its four years, the tournament has raised over $41,000 for local charities.

"It's been really huge and we surpassed our expectations," Aaron said. "It's nice to show that Matt's legacy of helping people is still there."

Connie Raynor-Elliott, founder of SOYA, said her organization does not receive stable funding, relying on the public and organizations like the Matt Wheten Legacy Tournament to help it achieve its mission.

The tournament also allows SOYA to have an information table during the event to help it reach more people.

"It's so much fun, and what a legacy for Matt," said Raynor-Elliott of the tournament.

"You can see the love, the compassion. It's just a really great event and what they do for the community is amazing."