SJ Magazine – January 2017<\/a>The story of Jon Bon Jovi and Camden begins in 2009, when the much-loved\u00a0rockstar\u00a0spent 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 \u2013 all the good and all the bad.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t want to use his money, fame and connections if it wouldn\u2019t be put to good use.<\/p>\n
This was Bon Jovi \u2013 eight years ago \u2013 trying to determine if Camden was worth helping.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe relationship we have had with Camden speaks for itself,\u201d Bon Jovi says. \u201cWe always knew change would happen, it just takes time.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Bon Jovi called that donation a \u201cgesture,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
That was followed by a JBJ Soul Foundation grant of $250,000 to Heart of Camden for the construction of nine homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did several home ownership projects,\u201d Bon Jovi says. \u201cWith Heart of Camden, it was a home ownership and neighborhood revitalization project \u2013 we added some \u2018green\u2019 to the build. This was followed with the rehab of five houses with Saint Joseph\u2019s Carpenter Society, which\u00a0were\u00a0offered 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConversations 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,\u201d he continues. \u201cSubsequently, we funded Joseph\u2019s House from the time it was just a vision to now, and today it is a resource-oriented hub for homeless services.\u201d<\/p>\n
The JBJ Soul Foundation\u2019s support of Joseph\u2019s 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\u2019s House, county officials and local leaders, including Mayor Dana Redd, who quickly formed a partnership with Bon Jovi after her inauguration in 2010.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mayor Redd, the admiration is reciprocated.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore I even met him\u2026I was about to take on an enormous job with a lack of resources. So I prayed,\u201d says Redd. \u201cI remember one prayer very specifically.<\/p>\n
I asked God to send help for Camden \u2013 and he did. He sent individuals I never thought would come to our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJon Bon Jovi is a spiritually grounded but socially conscious person,\u201d Redd adds. \u201cIn my interactions with him, I\u2019ve seen that he has a humble spirit. He is committed to his calling \u2013 you can feel it, you can sense it. And I think that is rare in mega-superstars of his nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others have noticed that kind spirit, too. Pilar Hogan\u00a0Closkey, the executive director\u00a0of\u00a0Saint Joseph\u2019s Carpenter Society \u2013 the third nonprofit to receive a grant for its housing projects \u2013 says the\u00a0rockstar\u00a0isn\u2019t so much of a\u00a0rockstar\u00a0when he comes to Camden.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been interesting,\u201d she says, \u201cWhen he comes here, he\u2019s much more concerned about meeting the people behind the scenes. He\u2019ll do the public events, but he\u2019ll ask to have twice the amount of time set aside for him to sit down and talk with real people.\u00a0He doesn\u2019t want to just shake hands,\u00a0he wants to talk. It\u2019s funny, because the initial reaction of the people he meets is: \u2018Wait, how\u2019s my hair?\u2019 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, \u2018Wow, that was really interesting to sit down and talk with him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Closkey\u00a0has a favorite photo in her office of Bon Jovi with his arm around Camden resident Bernice Arrington, who passed away last year. It\u2019s from one of his earlier visits to Camden, and the two are standing on a street corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cBernice didn\u2019t really know who Jon was, but she was tickled when she saw how good-looking he was,\u201d\u00a0Closkey\u00a0says. \u201cBut 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\u2019re still working on the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
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, \u201cThis House is Not for Sale,\u201d were shot in Camden. (The videos will be available to stream to Tidal members this month.)<\/p>\n
\u201cWith the release of our new album, we decided to solicit several directors to do videos for every song on the album,\u201d says Bon Jovi. \u201cCasey Stein, our director, was assigned two songs: \u2018Living with the Ghost,\u2019 and \u2018Reunion,\u2019 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 \u2013 so I wrote the class a song.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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\u2026that conversation won me over and led to our collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bon Jovi filmed his performance for the Reunion video at Camden High School last fall on a day students had off.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut a few of them got word and came by to say hello,\u201d Bon Jovi says. \u201cAs did the visiting girls volleyball team of Winslow Township High School \u2013 who had not received word that our video in the gym had postponed their game.\u201d<\/p>\n
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. \u201cThe film shows the progress in the city, and it shows the continuing commitment of the community,\u201d Bon Jovi says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u2019s \u2018never give up\u2019 attitude \u2013 that keeps us coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re in this for the long haul,\u201d Bon Jovi adds. \u201cThese are our people. This is where I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Marianne Aleardi SJ Magazine – January 2017 The story of Jon Bon Jovi and Camden begins in 2009, when the much-loved\u00a0rockstar\u00a0spent 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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