Category Archives: Archive

October 6 2009

Jon Bon Jovi Speaks at World Habitat Day

Secretary Shaun Donovan of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Dr. Anna Tibaijuka, executive director of the United Nations Human Settlement Programme, UN-HABITAT, co-hosted the program which was intended to help promote affordable housing and sustainable urban development. The program included a video message from President Obama among the speakers.

According to the United Nations, more than 100 million people in the world today are homeless. Millions more face a severe housing problem living without adequate sanitation, with irregular or no electricity supply and without adequate security.

Worldwide, more than 2 million housing units per year are needed for the next 50 years to solve the present worldwide housing crisis. With our global population expanding, however, at the end of those 50 years, there would still be a need for another 1 billion houses.

Raising awareness and advocating for change are the first steps toward transforming systems that perpetuate the global plague of poverty housing. World Habitat Day serves as an important reminder that everyone must unite to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent place to call home.

Jon Bon Jovi’s comments about the work of the JBJ Soul Foundation and our work in the communities across the country was punctuated by a call to action. He encouraged all to become part of “The Power of WE” and to get involved, at any level, in revitalizing their communities.

CLICK HERE to read a copy of Jon Bon Jovi’s speech from this event

Jon Bon Jovi with Dr. Anna Tibaijuka and Dr. Judith Rodin

             <img src="http://wordpress.jonbonjovisoulfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/imported/editorial-photos/1254933698.45289.UNWHDHonoreephoto-200x150.jpg" title="UN WHD Honoree photo" alt="UN WHD Honoree photo" />

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September 25 2009

Camden Community GreenUP

With GreenUp now in full swing, we wanted to tell you where we are and where we’re going. We had a hugely successful GreenUp kick-off event on September 14, 2009. With your help, we managed to:

Recruit & Deploy over 50 Volunteers
Clean and Green 13 Vacant Lots; and
Spark Excitement for GreenUp with a Media Event with Mayor Gwendolyn Faison.

Check out media from the event at camdengreenup.org

** GreenUp** will be moving to other vacant lots over the next few weeks. Look out for other volunteer opportunities in the weeks ahead. But for right now, we want you to “save the date” for the GreenUp closing event on October 19, 2009, when we will “clean and green” across three city blocks in Lanning Square, an effort that will culminate in a party to celebrate what we have been able to accomplish in just a few short weeks.

Look out for more information on this event shortly!

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July 30 2009

The Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation is now the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation!

Welcome to our new site! Our name and web address may have changed but our mission remains the same: to combat issues that force families and individuals into economic despair. Through the funding and creation of programs and partnerships, we support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

Thank you for visiting our site and we hope you continue to check back often, as we will be continuously adding more features and content!

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July 14 2009

JON BON JOVI & SOUL FOUNDATION join PROJECT H.O.M.E. and BETHESDA PROJECT to BUILD NEW, AFFORDABLE HOUSING in PHILADELPHIA

Project H.O.M.E. Executive Director Sister Mary Scullion

Five years in development, the project is the collaborative vision of two local non-profits which work with the homeless: Project H.O.M.E. and the Bethesda Project. In addition to the efforts of these two organizations, dozens of public and private donors (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Franciso… as well as Jon Bon Jovi and the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation.) In addition to financial support from the private and public sectors, local neighbors (including Macy’s, SEPTA and the Loews Hotel) saw the construction of the project an asset to the neighborhood.

Developers plan to demolish an unused parish building belonging to St. John the Evangelist Church (on 13th Street) as well as a vacant building which currently sits behind the SEPTA headquarters (on Market Street.) The new 63,000-square-foot, eight-story highrise is slated to open in 2010 and consist 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 amenties.

In order to earn LEED-Certification, the construction will be environmentally friendly by way of insulated walls, high, energy-efficient appliances, a rainwater-collection systems, and a vegetation-covered “green roof.” Additionally, upwards of fifteen percent of the materials being utilized to construct the new housing will be recycled elements.

More than two hundred people attended the ceremony, including Cardinal Justin Rigali, Project H.O.M.E. Executive Director Sister Mary Scullion, Project H.O.M.E. co-founder Joan Dawson McConnon, and the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation’s Jon Bon Jovi.

For more photos from the groundbreaking event, please visit our Photo Gallery.

To read KYW 1060 News Radio’s story about this project, click HERE.

To read The Metro’s story about this groundbreaking, click HERE.

To view the architectural rendering of the planned housing, please click to download the PDF file HERE.

[Cardinal Justin Rigali and Jon Bon Jovi (AP Photo / Michael Perez)]

Following is the Official Press Release issued:

PROJECT H.O.M.E. AND BETHESDA PROJECT ANNOUNCE NEW JOINT VENTURE TO HELP HOUSE HOMELESS COMMUNITY

New Facility Will be a LEED-Certified Home for 79 Men and Women

PHILADELPHIA, July 8, 2009 — Today homeless advocate Jon Bon Jovi, Cardinal Justin Rigali and Brian Hudson from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, joined two of Philadelphia’s leading homeless organizations, Project H.O.M.E. and the Bethesda Project, to announce a unique joint venture to develop a LEED-certified, affordable housing facility in Center City, which will be named in memory and honor of the legacy of John and Josephine Connelly. The two nonprofit organizations are dedicated to serving the needs of the homeless and formerly homeless Philadelphians, and are working in partnership for the first time to build a facility that will house 79 men and women.

“We are extremely proud not only of the opportunity this project provides for the homeless community, but also of the unique collaboration among organizations and neighbors that went into making this possible,” said Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director of Project H.O.M.E. “This incredible partnership with Bethesda Project, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, St. John the Evangelist Church, and the project’s neighbors, has allowed us to combine resources and create something that will have a tremendous impact on our community.”

“When Fr. Frank Yacobi, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Church first asked Bethesda Project if we’d be interested in using the unused parish buildings to help people who are homeless, we immediately said yes,” said Angelo Sgro, Executive Director of Bethesda Project. “When we decided to build a new building on this site, we asked Project H.O.M.E. to partner with us because of their expertise in developing this kind of housing.”

The .18-acre square-shaped site is located in the center of Philadelphia’s business district at 13th and Market Streets. The eight-story building will be 63,620 square-feet and will consist of 79 single resident units. The building will also feature a multi-purpose room, a laundry room, an exercise room, multiple kitchens, offices, storage and a lobby/reception area. The building, located behind St. John the Evangelist church, is surrounded by commercial and institutional buildings, including the SEPTA building, Loews hotel, Macy’s, and the PSFS building, among many others.

“This building is important because we are creating desperately needed permanent, supported housing for people with special needs in an area of the City with an abundance of social services, transportation, and social opportunities available to them,” said Angelo Sgro. “The unprecedented acceptance and enthusiasm we received from neighbors in the area further demonstrates that the Philadelphia community is committed to ending homelessness.”

Another important aspect of the building is that is will be LEED-certified. Environmentally-friendly components of the building will include a green roof, highly insulated walls to improve thermal performance, a rainwater collection system for irrigation and non-potable use, high-efficiency mechanical systems and lighting, 15% of the materials for the facility will be constructed using recycled content and 75% of all demolition materials will be recycled. The project team plans to register the facility for LEED Silver Certification, seeking points in all six categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Material and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Innovation and Design Process.

In addition to serving as a living space, the new building will also house parish offices and a community room for Project H.O.M.E. and Bethesda Project programs. The two parts of the building will have separate entrances and are designed to operate independently. The residential component will have direct street access and embody many features and amenities often found in Center city apartment buildings.

“Funding and development of this project has been underway for almost five years, and with construction expected to be completed in 2010, we are thrilled to see this longtime vision become a reality,” said Sister Mary Scullion.

ABOUT PROJECT H.O.M.E.
Since 1989, Project H.O.M.E. has helped more than 8,000 people break the cycle of homelessness and poverty by providing a continuum of care that includes street outreach, supportive housing and comprehensive services that focus on health care, education and employment. The organization also works to prevent homelessness and poverty through comprehensive neighborhood revitalization in North Philadelphia. These efforts include the renovation of vacant or deteriorated houses that are then sold to first-time homebuyers; economic reinvestment along the Ridge Avenue Corridor; adult and youth education and enrichment programs at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs; and community-based health care services. To learn more, please visit WWW.PROJECTHOME.ORG

ABOUT BETHESDA PROJECT
The mission of Bethesda Project is to find and care for the abandoned poor and to be family with those who have none. Since its founding in 1979, Bethesda Project staff and volunteers have helped single men and women who are homeless in Philadelphia by providing emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and supportive services designed to help people leave homelessness behind and live a life of human dignity. The organization provides services at 14 sites in and around Center City. For more information on how to support Bethesda Project as a volunteer or a donor, please visit WWW.BETHESDAPROJECT.ORG

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June 25 2009

JON BON JOVI – REMARKS to the NATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR SERVICE AND VOLUNTEERING

Thank you to the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger and especially the first Lady of
California, my friend, Maria Shriver, whose family tradition of service and activism has been an inspiration to generations.

And I want to GIVE my biggest thanks to all of you for attending this National Conference on Volunteerism as we launch the “United We Serve” program.

Just by the nature of this convention, if I’m up here speaking to you, I’m preaching to the converted. You have already embraced -– as a career path or as a charitable endeavor — the needs, challenges and the satisfaction that volunteering can bring to any number of topics we face today.

Many different roads have brought us to this destination, each of us with his or her own unique story to tell. My becoming “this” involved in philanthropy took shape as the co-owner of an arena football team called the Philadelphia Soul. It may seem an odd choice to some but not to me.

I won’t bore you with the details of my buying the franchise but I will tell you this: I thought sport was a unique way to make a difference in our community. You see, from our inception, I didn’t care if you liked Bon Jovi or football. Everyone thinks they have soul (hence, the name.)

And while we were looking to win on the field, winning off the field was equally important. We were looking for men of character, not characters. This was going to be, not only a safe, affordable place where a family could come root for the home team but also, a place where sponsors would be proud to spend their money. So before we played a down, before we sold a ticket, I went to sponsors, both big and small, and explained that I intended to make a difference in sports ownership and in our community. In our first couple of years, whether it was a foster home who needed a playground, a hospice who needed a check, or the local Covenant House who needed beds… if the Soul could be there, we were.

By the spring of 2005, our focus became clearer. We became involved in the issue of affordable housing and in our desire to break the chains of poverty in and around our area. The Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation was born.

Initially, we partnered with organizations like Habitat for Humanity and HELP USA. But it was the mentoring of Sister Mary Scullion and Project H.O.M.E. for which we are most grateful. It was Sister Mary who taught me the important of job training and service providing. These elements were key to the success in and around each of our builds. That something seemingly as simple as basic computer skills are the difference between the quantity and quality of food you can ultimately put on your table…

In the four plus years that we have been at work, we have now helped fun 151 units of affordable housing, not just in Philadelphia but also in places as diverse as Los Angeles, Denver, Detroit, Brooklyn and in my home state of New Jersey.

I didn’t come here today to talk about me but, in fact, to talk about WE… The Power of We and what that means.

We are all aware of the trying economic times we live in. Money is tight everywhere. And yet, the homeless are still homeless, the hungry are still hungry. But there is hope for the hopeless. Volunteerism is on the rise in
America. Maybe it is due to the economy. Or maybe, it’s because we’re reminded that we’re all in this together.

But whether it’s the President’s signing of the Service America Act in the name of Maria’s uncle, Edward Kennedy…

Or the nearly 5,000 of us here today…

Each of us believes we can do it. But as President Obama said, we can’t do it alone.

Government needs to work in concert with non-profits, corporations, and individuals to make what I believe can be a noticeable difference in the places where we live. The cynic will say we can’t fix everything to which I respond, but if each of the hopeful can fix just one thing, imagine what we could do.

Today shines a spotlight on our starting point. It’s Day one of a new season. An era built on the foundation of initiatives like AmeriCorps and City Year. Today we build on that foundation with United We Serve. We’re going to need to sustain the energy captured today and throughout this summer’s initiative. Maybe it’s credits for college kids, maybe it’s tax incentives, maybe it’s just a round table to discuss ideas.

Remember, Michelle Obama not only planted those seeds in the White House garden but she nurtured them. After the photo op, you’ve got to remember, America, roll up your sleeves. Time to get your hands dirty. This journey starts here and now with the first step. President Obama said, “Yes, We Can,” I’m here to say, “Yes, we will,” and someday soon, we’re going to look back and say, “Yes, we did.”

Thank you for all your hard work, for inspiring me and countless others, for showing the country and the world that tomorrow starts now. We’re going to make volunteerism hip. Together and with The Power of We, we can start a revolution. One Soul at a time…

Thank you.