Monthly Archives: November 2010

< BACK

 November 30 2010 

Jon Bon Jovi Visits Soul Foundation Projects

Jon’s first stop was in Camden, NJ where he visited with the students and staff of Hopeworks and the C.R.I.B. (Community Responding In Belief). The JBJSF provided funding for this project which opened its doors to its first resident in September 2010. The C.R.I.B. offers students a safe atmosphere with structured learning where youth can succeed. C.R.I.B. will house up to 10 youth, ages 18 and older, who must also be either enrolled in college courses or employed.

To view photos from Jon’s visit, please click HERE

For more information about Hopeworks ‘N Camden and the C.R.I.B. program please click HERE

Jon’s second stop of the day was to check on progress at the Connelly House in Center City Philadelphia. This project is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin accepting residents in Spring 2011. The JBJSF partnered with Project H.O.M.E. and Bethesda Project to help build a LEED-Certified apartment building that will serve as housing for formerly homeless men and women. The new 63,000-square-foot, eight-story high-rise consists of 79 single-resident units, as well as a multi-purpose room, computer lab, exercise facility, offices for Project H.O.M.E. and Bethesda Project, kitchens and additional social service amenities.

To view photos from Jon’s visit, please click HERE

For more information on the Connelly House, HERE

< BACK

 November 8 2010 

JBJSF Teams Up With Students from Hopeworks ‘N Camden

Trainees at Hopeworks go through a curriculum that teaches them how to build web sites for clients. Completion of the training can earn them a job in Hopeworks’ web business, which is an incentive to continue in a work skills program that compliments their academic work. The main goal for Hopeworks youth is to continue their education, most often in Community College. They attend daily literacy sessions where they work one-on-one with a teacher or volunteer to improve their skills or to work on their classroom assignments. Part of the literacy program is a Digital Storytelling program where youth write an essay about their lives, record it and use the recording as the soundtrack to a video. This is often the first exposure the youth have to editing a video. Like most young people today they pick up the process quickly and their videos often exceed expectations.

In addition to Hopeworks’ Web and GIS work, their staff also works with trainees to produce videos for clients, such as this JBJSF video. Hopeworks youth will meet with clients, help to plan the location shoots, act as the crew on shoots, log the footage and help to compile a “paper edit”. Generally it is a staff member who does the final edit, reviewing it at different points with the trainees involved.

On this video Jonathan (“Jon”) Lugo logged the footage and worked with staff to develop the paper edit. Trainee Chris Alicea was part of the crew on the location shoot.

Jon is taking a film appreciation class this semester and is in the process of shooting a class project and Chris has been involved with several other shoots and is working on a video that will be uploaded to the Hopeworks site at the end of the year. Working on the JBJSF video gave Jon and Chris more valuable experience in this field as they continue with their studies.

For more information, please visit the website for Hopeworks ‘N Camden

The JBJ Soul Foundation thanks the youth of Hopeworks for their thoughtful input to this video as well as their dedication to moving their lives forward in a productive way… one SOUL at a time!!