Category Archives: Editorial

January 24 2019

JBJ Soul Kitchen, Murphy Family Foundation, Announces Ongoing Partnership

Furloughed federal workers can receive a free meal at either JBJ Soul Kitchen location throughout the shutdown

Due to the tremendous demand demonstrated by participation in this week’s events, The Philip and Tammy Murphy Family Foundation is announcing that they will continue their partnership with JBJ Soul Kitchen on an ongoing basis. Starting today, any furloughed federal employee may receive a free meal at either Toms River or Red Bank JBJ Soul Kitchen location during their regular service hours throughout the government shutdown.

The JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank can be found at 207 Monmouth Street, just one block from the Red Bank train station. The JBJ Soul Kitchen’s Toms River location can be found at 1769 Hooper Avenue. Those wishing to participate should bring proof of federal employment.

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January 22 2019

Soul Kitchen Partners with The Murphy Foundation Sponsor Meals for Furloughed Employees

Red Bank – The Murphy Family Foundation, Phil and Tammy Murphy’s philanthropic organization, is announcing a partnership with JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank to provide free meals to furloughed federal workers. The first meal will be available this Monday, January 21, from noon to 2 pm, with Tammy Murphy and Dorothea Bon Jovi in attendance.

“Too many working families in New Jersey struggle to make ends meet every day, and just one missed paycheck can mean financial catastrophe,” Phil and Tammy Murphy said. “We are committed to doing everything we can to help hard-working federal employees, who have now been out of work a full month, through this prolonged and meaningless shutdown. Until this shutdown ends, it is incumbent upon all of us to help our fellow New Jerseyans through this difficult time.”

“Since founding the Soul Kitchen, we wanted to ensure that anyone struggling with food insecurity had a place to go,” Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, of JBJ Soul Kitchen, said. “This Monday, we will be open for lunch as a way to create a place of support and resources for furloughed federal workers, many of whom are our friends and neighbors. We are thrilled to work together with Phil and Tammy Murphy on this endeavor, and this Monday we look forward to giving back in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

The JBJ Soul Kitchen can be found at 207 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, just one block from the Red Bank train station. The initial meal will take place this Monday, January 21, from 12 to 2 pm. The second meal will be served at JBJ Soul Kitchen in Toms River at 1769 Hooper Avenue. Those wishing to participate should bring proof of federal employment.

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January 30 2017

Letter from Mimi Box, Executive Director

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year from all of us at the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation! 2016 capped off our first ten years of operations! As we celebrated many accomplishments in the fields of affordable housing and hunger -much due to the learned best-practices and sage mentoring by our many community partners – we look forward to continuing that work with you into 2017 and forward.

As many of you already know, this month we will have some transitions here at JBJSF. After ten plus incredible years I will be stepping aside as the Executive Director to focus on personal activities and, thanks to Jon and the Board, will stay involved by retaining my position on the Board of the Foundation.

We, as a Board, are excited to announce the selection of Melody Keim as the next Executive Director. Melody comes to us from the Lancaster County Community Foundation and prior to that the East King Improvement District where she has honed her management and community team-building skills.

I would be mistaken to not thank each and every one of you for the incredible support you have provided to our Foundation, and me personally, as we grew from a fledgling organization to one that has garnered national recognition for our work.

It has truly been “The Power Of We” because without you, our faithful donors none of this would have been possible. Your understanding of our mission and basic “hand up” philosophy, your support of that work both financially and in your presence has been a motivating factor to me every single day over the past ten plus years.

During my tenure, I have collaborated with the smallest of nonprofits to the largest networking organizations as well as many local, state and Federal government entities – all of whom have provided inspiration to me. I leave this position with the greatest respect for the work that each and every one of you do each day in providing compassionate and impactful services to those in need.

So as I pass the reins to Melody, I thank you for your support, your friendship and for your inspiration and I look forward to seeing what the future holds in store for us!

With warm regards,

Mim

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January 6 2017

Jon Bon Jovi – So much more than a rockstar

By Marianne Aleardi
SJ Magazine – January 2017

The story of Jon Bon Jovi and Camden begins in 2009, when the much-loved rockstar spent a full day touring the city in a bus packed with city and community leaders who were there at his invitation. He had requested the tour because he wanted to see the city up close – all the good and all the bad.

Soon after, he convened a roundtable with politicians, residents, community leaders and clergy members. Bon Jovi was conducting research. He wanted to know if he came to help, would the city respond? He made it clear to everyone: he didn’t want to use his money, fame and connections if it wouldn’t be put to good use.

This was Bon Jovi – eight years ago – trying to determine if Camden was worth helping.

And rather quickly, he decided it was. So for nearly a decade now, the celebrity icon has been quietly helping to chip away at problems that plague the city, donating money to targeted projects and popping up here and there at events, ribbon cuttings and video shoots. Plenty of Camden residents have taken selfies with him, and many city officials call him a friend.

“The relationship we have had with Camden speaks for itself,” Bon Jovi says. “We always knew change would happen, it just takes time.”

So over time, the rocker has seen several of his projects come to life, especially in the areas of housing and homelessness. The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has made housing its priority, originally giving a $50,000 matching donation to the Greater Camden Partnership, which was launching an initiative to transform vacant lots into pleasant, landscaped spaces.

Bon Jovi called that donation a “gesture,” saying he wanted to see if people would step up and match the donation. The Partnership ended up raising an extra $150,000, exceeding the original match donation and reassuring the singer his efforts would be well received and could have a substantial impact.

That was followed by a JBJ Soul Foundation grant of $250,000 to Heart of Camden for the construction of nine homes.

“We did several home ownership projects,” Bon Jovi says. “With Heart of Camden, it was a home ownership and neighborhood revitalization project – we added some ‘green’ to the build. This was followed with the rehab of five houses with Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society, which were offered for sale to low- and moderate-income first-time homeowners. The importance of this project was its focus on eradicating vacant and boarded-up houses in neighborhoods.”

“Conversations then led to the need to provide shelter for the homeless and to begin to address the very visible issue of the homeless population in Camden,” he continues. “Subsequently, we funded Joseph’s House from the time it was just a vision to now, and today it is a resource-oriented hub for homeless services.”

The JBJ Soul Foundation’s support of Joseph’s House allowed the nonprofit to move to a new, larger location. After years in a temporary setting, the nonprofit purchased and rehabbed a freestanding facility that provides emergency shelter, as well as direct access to social services and healthcare agencies. Bon Jovi attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2014, along with former residents of Joseph’s House, county officials and local leaders, including Mayor Dana Redd, who quickly formed a partnership with Bon Jovi after her inauguration in 2010.

When you ask Bon Jovi if there is one person who has impacted him most during his time in Camden, he points to Mayor Redd.

“Her commitment and calm, steady leadership has been most impressive. Having been born, raised and educated in Camden, she is the guiding light. Her vision of what Camden can be is clearly articulated in everything she does.”

For Mayor Redd, the admiration is reciprocated.

“Before I even met him…I was about to take on an enormous job with a lack of resources. So I prayed,” says Redd. “I remember one prayer very specifically.

I asked God to send help for Camden – and he did. He sent individuals I never thought would come to our city.”

“Jon Bon Jovi is a spiritually grounded but socially conscious person,” Redd adds. “In my interactions with him, I’ve seen that he has a humble spirit. He is committed to his calling – you can feel it, you can sense it. And I think that is rare in mega-superstars of his nature.”

Others have noticed that kind spirit, too. Pilar Hogan Closkey, the executive director of Saint Joseph’s Carpenter Society – the third nonprofit to receive a grant for its housing projects – says the rockstar isn’t so much of a rockstar when he comes to Camden.

“It’s been interesting,” she says, “When he comes here, he’s much more concerned about meeting the people behind the scenes. He’ll do the public events, but he’ll ask to have twice the amount of time set aside for him to sit down and talk with real people. He doesn’t want to just shake hands, he wants to talk. It’s funny, because the initial reaction of the people he meets is: ‘Wait, how’s my hair?’ but then they realize he has a genuine interest in having a one-on-one conversation with them. So they do the selfie, but they walk away saying, ‘Wow, that was really interesting to sit down and talk with him.’”

Closkey has a favorite photo in her office of Bon Jovi with his arm around Camden resident Bernice Arrington, who passed away last year. It’s from one of his earlier visits to Camden, and the two are standing on a street corner.

“Bernice didn’t really know who Jon was, but she was tickled when she saw how good-looking he was,” Closkey says. “But more than that, she was so engaged in telling him about her neighborhood and the work we were poised to start doing there. Bernice was already a homeowner and living in the neighborhood, and she was a great convener of people to get things done in her community. On that day, she spoke with Jon about her ideas of what we could do together on the empty lots behind her house. We have accomplished some of it, and we’re still working on the rest.”

As the work on housing and homelessness pushes on, Bon Jovi continues to bring attention to the city. Two music videos for his new album, “This House is Not for Sale,” were shot in Camden. (The videos will be available to stream to Tidal members this month.)

“With the release of our new album, we decided to solicit several directors to do videos for every song on the album,” says Bon Jovi. “Casey Stein, our director, was assigned two songs: ‘Living with the Ghost,’ and ‘Reunion,’ which I wrote for my recent convocation speech at Rutgers. I explained to Casey and his producer that I was given an honorary doctorate by Rutgers, and I wanted to do something special with my speech – so I wrote the class a song.”

“When they told me the high school had the name Camden written on the bleachers, they pitched me that we could relate the song not only to the graduating class of Rutgers, but also to the journey of Camden and bringing back their people to the Reunion…that conversation won me over and led to our collaboration.”

Bon Jovi filmed his performance for the Reunion video at Camden High School last fall on a day students had off.

“But a few of them got word and came by to say hello,” Bon Jovi says. “As did the visiting girls volleyball team of Winslow Township High School – who had not received word that our video in the gym had postponed their game.”

Bon Jovi is also producing a documentary about Camden to be released this month. A film crew spent days shooting in North Camden and East Camden, including players from the North Camden Little League scrimmaging on the Rutgers-Camden softball field. “The film shows the progress in the city, and it shows the continuing commitment of the community,” Bon Jovi says.

“We often get thanks for not giving up on Camden and for returning to the city and for bringing others here, but in reality, we are drawn back because of the need and the community’s ‘never give up’ attitude – that keeps us coming back.”

“We’re in this for the long haul,” Bon Jovi adds. “These are our people. This is where I’m from. Our foundation began in Philadelphia, and I was born and raised in New Jersey. Our work has reached coast to coast, but our roots are here.”

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May 11 2016

Jon Bon Jovi Opens B.E.A.T. Center to Fight Hunger in Shore Town Hit Hard by Sandy

The Sayreville, New Jersey-born rocker and his wife, Dorothea Bongiovi, are joining with local charities and wealthy fellow philanthropists to tackle hunger and poverty in a shore town that was devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

He and his Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation held a grand opening Tuesday for the B.E.A.T. Center, which stands for Bringing Everyone All Together. The center includes the second JBJ Soul Kitchen restaurant, where those in need can do volunteer work for their meals, and paying customers donate toward the cost of the volunteers’ food by purchasing a “Pay It Forward” certificate. The first one opened in Red Bank in 2011.

The center in Toms River is designed as a one-stop facility to help people apply for nutritional assistance benefits and health care, and get culinary-related job training.

The singer best known for rock anthems like “Livin’ On A Prayer,” “You Give Love A Bad Name” and “Wanted Dead Or Alive” said hunger is something he can actually do something about.

“We didn’t need scientists to find a cure,” he said. “There are so many wonderful causes and so many passionate people that are addressing them. We have been inspired by so many of our in-need neighbors who have come seeking help.”

He and several others active with the center said one of its main goals is not just to feed the lines at food pantries but also to permanently shorten them.

“We serve people with dignity,” added his wife, Dorothea. “You get great food and volunteer for the meal, and we ask our paying customers to pay it forward and pay for the volunteers’ meals. That’s part of our sustainability model.”

Bon Jovi said many area residents are still recovering from Sandy and don’t have enough nutritious food to eat. But he said the need predated the storm in Ocean County, where one in five residents is low-income or lives in poverty.

“This is happening across our nation,” he said. “When there’s 15 percent of children going to be hungry at night in a nation like ours, that’s not an issue it takes a scientist to solve.”

Toms River was one of the hardest-hit communities during Sandy, which struck Oct. 29, 2012. The nearby Ortley Beach section was devastated, and many homes and businesses still have not been rebuilt as the fourth summer after the storm approaches.

Bon Jovi is partnering with the Food Bank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, The Peoples Pantry and the David Tepper Charitable Foundation to provide $5 million in services to needy families in the B.E.A.T. Center’s first year of operation.

The center joins other charitable endeavors undertaken by Bon Jovi, including the construction of 440 units of affordable housing for homeless or low-income families and donations to numerous Sandy relief efforts.