Category Archives: Editorial

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/.

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September 2 2010

GreenUP Update!

Almost one year later – two of the lots cleaned & greened during the Camden GreenUP in 2009

Visit the Camden GreenUP photo album for before, during, and after shots of some of the lots that were cleaned & greened by the great group of volunteers who came out to support the effort!

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August 9 2010

New Homeowners Move into Homes Rebuilt by JBJSF and Saint Joseph’s Carpenters Society

On June 29th, 2010 one of the homes that the Soul Foundation has helped to rebuild was sold to Angela (pictured above, taken at the closing table). When SJCS spoke with Angela, a nurse’s aide, following her first weekend in her house, she had already painted some of the walls to make the home feel more like hers! She specifically chose this house because of the hardwood floors that funding from the Soul Foundation allowed Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society to install. Her son has terrible asthma and she was excited to find a house with the hardwood floors.

A buyer has also been identified for another home that the Soul Foundation helped restore. Luis has been working with the SJCS program for over 5 years, with the goal being to buy a home. A security guard, and currently living in the basement of his mother’s house in Camden, he is excited to be buying this house which will allow him to reunite his family. The SJCS is working with Luis to buy this house next week by taking advantage of home buyer assistance programs.

With these two houses sold, that leaves one of the Soul Foundation supported homes left to go which SJCS will now be working on full time. All of the demolition has been completed, which was performed by a majority of volunteer crews. SJCS has already identified a buyer for this house, a family who has been working with SJCS to prepare for this next step in owning their own home.

Congratulations to all of our new homeowners – we know it has been a long process and we salute your perseverance and vision!

The photo above includes new homeowner Angela, with her friend, Rosie (mortgage counselor for SJCS) and Richard, owner of Collegiate Title Agency, where the closing took place

To learn more about Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society, Click HERE

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July 8 2010

Bon Jovi, Woods Unite to Rock FORE Charity

Held at a beautiful private estate in Radnor Township, Pa., the event welcomed an intimate crowd of 300 for a VIP reception and rousing live auction.

Following the auction, guests were greeted and welcomed by Woods, who spoke about the importance of both organizations and the work they do to help underserved young people and families. Woods then welcomed legendary rocker Jon Bon Jovi to the stage for a thrilling acoustic set, featuring hits “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Notable auction items at Rock FORE Charity included an array of golf, sports and music-themed packages, including an exclusive golf trip for four featuring a golf outing and Q&A with Tiger, and a one-of-a-kind Bon Jovi VIP front-row concert experience that includes a meet and greet with Jon and a personalized autographed guitar.

Tiger and Jon first joined forces for charity in 2003, when Bon Jovi headlined Tiger Jam VI, a benefit concert event which raises funds for the Tiger Woods Foundation. Jon and Tiger reunited for Tiger Jam X, which the band also headlined. Most recently, Tiger spent time at Project H.O.M.E., a community partner of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. While there, Tiger toured the facility, met with program participants and interacted with the youth from Hopeworks in Camden.

About 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.

About 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; Tiger’s Action Plan, a collection of curricula distributed to students nationwide; and the Earl Woods Scholarship Program, which provides students with a demonstrated financial need and a proven commitment to community service a scholarship renewable for up to four years. In addition to its original programming, the Foundation also awards grants to youth-based organizations around the world.