Category Archives: News

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 June 24 2010 

JBJSF ANNOUNCES NEWEST PROJECT

Speakers at the ceremony included Cordella Hill, Executive Director of Covenant House Pennsylvania, Deborah McColloch, Director of the Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD), and Emily Riley, Executive Vice President of the Connelly Foundation. Also present at the groundbreaking were Mimi Box and Heather Poole, JBJ Soul Foundation, and Kim Flaville, Connelly Foundation, as well as representatives of other partners and contractors who have been involved in the development of this project.

The development will consist of 10 two-bedroom units of affordable housing. All units will contain a shared kitchen, bathroom and living area. Additionally, plans include outdoor recreational space, a lounge, laundry facilities and offices for program support staff.

The Rights of Passage homes are a direct response to the growing need for transitional housing for young adults in Philadelphia. Covenant House alone serves more than 500 young people every year through its Crisis Shelter, with limited resources for transitioning them to independence. This expanded Rights of Passage program is the final piece of Covenant House’s continuum of care that provides youth with both the joy of independence and the stability of a safety net.

“We are so excited to finally have this project underway,” said Hill. “What started as a dream eight years ago is finally becoming a reality. This is a truly monumental day for homeless youth in Philadelphia.”

“The demand for special-needs housing in Philadelphia is high,” said McColloch. “OHCD is pleased to help provide these young adults with safe and affordable housing.”

“Jon Bon Jovi and I visited a youth shelter in Nashville, TN while he was visiting there while on tour. Talking to the youth there made us aware of the many obstacles they encounter in trying to get into safe and affordable housing. Philadelphia’s estimate of the number of teens who are living in highly mobile situations is staggering. We are glad we are now able to be part of the solution for this youth population”, said Mimi Box, Executive Director, Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation.

Councilman Frank DiCicco, who strongly supported the development but was unable to attend the event, added, “The First District welcomes such a unique and necessary housing opportunity. Homeless youth in Philadelphia can rely on the care and expertise of this transitional housing team.”

The Rights of Passage Program requires all residents to be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week, participate in life skills classes, attend to daily chores, complete three or more hours of community service each month and pay rent. After care is also provided to recent graduates.

“This program provides a well-rounded education that will continue to serve residents long after they leave,” said Hill. “We are grateful to our funding and development partners for helping us to create our vision.”

About Covenant House
Since 1999 Covenant House has been providing faith-based services to children suffering on the street. They are dedicated to providing youth with unconditional love and absolute respect. Covenant House works to protect and safeguard children everywhere. For more information, please visit their website: www.covenanthousepa.org

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 May 14 2010 

Surprise Visit by Tiger Woods to Youth and Staff at Project H.O.M.E. and Hopeworks n’ Camden

In keeping with the mission of the JBJSF, we are continuing to forge partnerships and build relationships in our community. In working with the Tiger Woods Foundation, the JBJSF has identified two organizations in our grant portfolio that will also benefit from this event: Project H.O.M.E. and Hopeworks in Camden, NJ. On Monday, May 10th, 2010, both organizations received a surprise visit by Tiger Woods at the Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs in Philadelphia. He was in the area to visit Aronimink Golf Club, site of this year’s AT&T National. The purpose of Woods’ visit to the Center was to learn first hand about both organizations and how they are helping their city’s youth through innovative educational programs. Tiger visited Project H.O.M.E.’s College Access Program and an Adult Learning class as well as with Hopeworks’ youth who shared their experiences and goals with Tiger.

Tiger Woods Suprise Visit With Project H.O.M.E. and HopeWorks n'Camden
Above: From L-R – Tiger Woods; from Project H.O.M.E.: Sister Mary Scullion, Executive Director; Caprese Harmon, graduate of the CAP program; and Tomika Brown, College Access Program Coordinator

Tiger Woods Suprise Visit With Project H.O.M.E. and HopeWorks n'Camden

Above: Woods visits with students from Hopeworks n’ Camden; From L-R – Sean Dougherty, Ramon Alverado, Jonathan Lugo, Tiger Woods, and Luis Solis

To read the press release, please Click HERE

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 May 10 2010 

2010 AT&T NATIONAL SUPPORTS PHILADELPHIA AREA YOUTH EDUCATION CHARITIES

Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia

The mission of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia is to enable all young people to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia has been providing the children of Philadelphia with hope, inspiration, and a safe place to learn and grow since 1897. Serving over 13,000 youth between the ages of six-weeks and 19 years of age annually, the programs of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia instill a sense of belonging, power, usefulness and competence. For more information about the services and programs offered by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, visit www.bgcphila.org, or contact the development and marketing office at (215) 735-8818, extension 26.

Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation

Founded in 2006, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation (formerly the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation) is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing about positive change and helping the lives of those in need ONE SOUL AT A TIME. The JBJSF transforms lives and neighborhoods through funding and the creation of programs and partnerships that support innovative community efforts to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. For more information visit www.jbjsoulfoundation.org. The tournament has identified two specific programs within the Soul Foundation’s grant portfolio to support, the Hopeworks Program in Camden, NJ and Project H.O.M.E’s Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs.

Hopeworks ‘N Camden empowers youth to identify and develop their dreams and own their future. While Camden’s public high schools have a dropout rate close to 70 percent, Hopeworks motivates youth to learn through technology training in website design. Youth participating in this training have earned over 1,500 college credits. Upon completing this training, over 250 youth have earned jobs in Hopeworks’ two business: web site design and development, and geographic information systems. Beyond training and jobs, Hopeworks enrolls its youth in college, provides residential housing and offers corporate internships. All youth at Hopeworks continuously engage in one-on-one tutoring in reading and math, as well as an intensive leadership development program. Working with over 1,200 youth, Hopeworks enhances the lives of the inner-city Camden youth by expanding the educational and career development opportunities available to them.

The mission of Project H.O.M.E.’s Honickman Learning Center and Comcast Technology Labs is to address the root causes of homelessness and poverty: the lack of adequate educational and employment opportunities. This state-of-the-art, 38,000-square-foot technology center in North Philadelphia provides programming focused on literacy, technology and enterprise for over 1,500 low-income and homeless children and adults each year. For more information, go to www.projecthome.org.

The Tiger Woods Foundation

Since 1996 the Tiger Woods Foundation has reached more than 10 million young people by delivering unique experiences and innovative educational opportunities for youth worldwide. Specific programs of the Foundation include The Tiger Woods Learning Center, a one-of-a-kind, 35,000-square-foot education facility custom-built for the underserved youth of Southern California. Everything at the Learning Center is about active participation and hands-on learning. Students in grades 5-12 build and launch rockets, land planes via flight simulator, operate the DNA sequencer and create their own animated films. Sample classes include forensic science, aerospace, engineering, robotics, biotechnology, video production and graphic design.

Tiger’s Action Plan is a collection of curricula distributed to students nationwide. Each curriculum contains interactive and informative lesson plans that focus on subjects important to young people including, exploring careers, planning for the future, financial responsibility and the importance of making a difference in your community. The Foundation has also helped send 25 bright, young students to college through the Earl Woods Scholarship Program. Scholarships are renewable for up to four years, with students chosen based on demonstrated financial need and a proven commitment to community service. In addition to its original programming, the Foundation also awards grants to youth-based organizations around the world. For more information visit www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation’s fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. A leader in mobile broadband, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verseSM and AT&T │DIRECTVSM brands. The company’s suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T Advertising Solutions and AT&T Interactive are known for their leadership in local search and advertising. In 2010, AT&T again ranked among the 50 Most Admired Companies by FORTUNE® magazine.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATTNews. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.Facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

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 April 23 2010 

Jon Bon Jovi visits Nashville shelter for homeless teens

“The Oasis Center is really a beacon to youth,” Bon Jovi said. “Having service providers at the same place that they can get a hot meal, a nap and a shower, it’s a very welcoming place.”

Bon Jovi spent about an hour with some of the Oasis kids. He sat in a circle with them, did yoga just as they do to start off a session, then listened to kids talk about what made them homeless and what could help them escape their condition.

“He was so engaged. He wasn’t being a rock star,” said Liz Workman, the center’s educational coordinator. “He was just someone who is really, really passionate about this issue.”

Her kids felt very empowered by being asked for solutions, she said, and talked frankly about the abuse or family tragedies they’d fled, about how simply lacking a birth certificate made it impossible to get a job or aid.

“You could tell he was honestly shocked by some of these situations,” Workman said.

Afterward, Bon Jovi said the Oasis Center’s array of services is innovative.

Almost 2,000 kids in the past year have used the Oasis drop-in center, a small room with a couch, some chairs and a couple of computer terminals. Some days it has four or five kids; some days it’s 15 or 16.

They can get a hot meal, talk to a counselor, make a telephone call or take a shower. “Some just need to sleep because they’ve been out on the streets,” Oasis CEO Hal Cato said.

Others use the overnight shelters, one for emergencies and one for long-term stays. The two bedrooms for emergency overnight stays are full every night, said counselor Jenny Gray.

Nashville has about 300 homeless youths at any time, Cato said. “They fly below the radar screen,” he said.

Bon Jovi said: “The face of homelessness has changed dramatically. It’s a lot of kids, a lot of single moms. It’s a lot of hardworking Americans coast to coast that have been displaced these past couple of years. They don’t need a handout. They need a hand up.”

The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a Philadelphia-based charity, builds affordable housing, 250 units over the past six years. But affordable housing is the top rung on the ladder, Bon Jovi said, for those who can make it out. He wants to change the culture that causes homelessness.

“It’s going to take money and effort and getting the word out,” he said.

“Over the years, I’ve had the ear of government officials. I hope that by being on the streets, and out of the Beltway, that I can provide information and have an impact, on the HUD secretary and even the President,” Bon Jovi said.

Video of the NewsChannel5.com interview with Jon Bon Jovi at the Oasis Center

OASIS CENTER

WHERE: Youth Opportunity Center, 1704 Charlotte Pike


WHAT: Drop-in shelter for homeless youths up to age 21, with two emergency-stay bedrooms, long-term lofts to help kids transition to jobs and independence


WHO: Kids come from Davidson and surrounding counties. More than half have aged out of foster care.


HOW TO HELP: A fundraising drive through May 1st aims to raise $150,000. Call 615-327-4455 or visit the website by clicking HERE