Author Archives: Soul Foundation

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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

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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!!

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October 21 2010

In Jon’s Own Words: What I Learned

In just the four years since our Foundation began its work, we saw the faces of those experiencing homelessness change, thus our recent investment in projects that benefit veterans, youth and families.

When Jon began his Circle Tour, he saw it as an opportunity to explore the causes and issues, as well as resources and strategies at work around the country. Here, in his own words, he shares what he learned, how the people he met validated the work we do, and most of all how they touched his heart and SOUL.

Just like the Tour site visits were stops along the way; our Foundation’s journey to combat homelessness has just begun. We thank you for your ongoing support of our Mission.

Sincerely,

Mimi Box, Executive Director
Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation

Please click HERE to watch the video and listen to Jon’s reflection on the places he visited, the people he met, and the affect it had on him

Please Click HERE to listen to the full audio and more in-depth recounts about his visits

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October 5 2010

Happy 4 Year Anniversary!

Here are just a few projects we have completed in four years, thanks to the
generous support of our donors:

Coinciding with the Foundation’s launch on October 6, 2006, the Foundation
announced we would partner with Project H.O.M.E. to
help rebuild 15 homes in North Philadelphia, a project which was completed
in November 2007.
In November 2007, we assisted the Habitat for Humanity’s Jimmy Carter Work
Project in launching a 3 year commitment to building an additional 150 homes
in Los Angeles County.
In May 2008, joining again with Project H.O.M.E. we committed to assisting
with building & updating the Saint Elizabeth’s Recovery Residence in
Philadelphia, PA which provides assistance to veterans.
In July 2008 we began construction on a project with Habitat for
Humanity-Detroit and Saturn Hands on Homes, to build 5 new homes in the
MorningSide community on Detroit’s East Side. The first home owner moved in
on December 12, 2008.
In September 2008, we collaborated with HELP USA to break
ground on a 51 unit complex which offers affordable housing with support
services for low-income and special-needs populations in Newark, NJ. The
HELP Genesis JBJ Soul Homes opened on December 8, 2009.
In July 2009, HomeAid Atlanta and JBJSF broke ground on a the first phase
of a 16-unit apartment complex with a community center. The Phoenix Pass
Complex is a long-term transitional housing complex (the first in Rockdale
County, Georgia) serving families, particularly women with children, who are
experiencing temporary homelessness in the Conyers/Rockdale County
Community. Phoenix Pass took in its first residents in the summer of 2010.

This a sampling of what has been keeping us busy for our first four years
and we are not even close to being done! On this day, as we celebrate our
past, we hope you will help us prepare for our future. With generous
contributions from those who support our work we have accomplished so much
to help provide food and shelter to so many people in great need. Over the
upcoming months, as we prepare for our next projects, we will also be
revisiting our early projects and profiling the faces of those whose lives
have changed as a result of your generosity and support of these programs.

Click here to donate now!

Thank you, all of you, for a spectacular four years and here’s to many more!

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October 1 2010

Congratulations to the Oasis Center!

Congratulations to the Oasis Center on their new kitchen facility and it’s use as a communal space within their program. For the past year and a half they have cooked on a hot plate and flown by the seat of their pants, but now they have a space where youth can cook together, eat together, and congregate all in a really beautiful and functional space. You can find out more about the Oasis Center at OasisCenter.org/.