Bon Jovi Do-Gooder — and so Are You!
Hey, thanks for all your nice comments about Bon Jovi and the worthy work he’s doing to help turn around troubled blocks in inner cities. (see the comment section for my specific responses to each of you).
He says that what we see when he’s on stage is what he does to earn a living, the rest is what he does with his life. I got the computer whiz (Jonathan) to put my entire Bon Jovi segment below!
doneIMPORTANT SIDENOTE: Just got a reply from the woman who runs the Books for Soldiers organization that so many of you asked about. Here it is:
I would like to thank Brian for mentioning Booksforsoldiers on Fox & Friends. And also thank Brian, Steve and Alisyn for supporting Booksforsoldiers. They all have such big hearts for helping with our deployed men and women and I appreciate everything they have done for Booksforsoldiers. Thanks to them I have received so many packages for booksforsoldiers in the last week. I will personally thank each person who sent a book for the deployed military member with a Thank-You card. Your books will all go to Afghanistan and Iraq this Christmas. With the holidays coming we are seeing one of the largest increases in requests at Booksforsoldiers for Books, Dvds, Video Games, Music CD and Snacks. If you would like to participate we would love to have you join us.Booksforsoldiers is a wonderful organization that is dedicated to supporting the US military outside the US and has been around since 2003. Military personnel are invited to make requests, and members read the requests and fill them. Booksforsoldiers.com receives no government support and limited corporate support. It is made possible due to the generosity of its members who are Offical Volunteers. You can become one of the Official Volunteers of Booksforsoldiers. To provide more security for our troops, we require our volunteers to fill out a notarized application that can be printed from the site and mailed in. It takes around three weeks for approval, but once your are approved all of the military requests forums will be open for you to view.
If you would like to know more about Booksforsoldiers please visit us at http://www.booksforsoldiers.com
Thank you Fox & Friends for your generosity,
Janet
Booksforsoldiers, Administration
No matter what you think of Jon Bon Jovi and his music, it is wonderful to see celebrities doing good for the people around them and avoiding the temptation to engage in devicive politics. If only more people from music, movies, and television took a cue from him and decide to do good for the less fortunate and stay away from the political arena.
Ali, Love the show! My kids say i am officially old. I actually dvr ff1st & ff so i can quickly peruse back through. I live in central time zone so it’s 5am when you guys “first” come on. i direct a non-denominational christian youth ministry from an old store front. We provide a free after-school program to middle-school age students in which we help them w/homework, give them a snack and drink, & offer some safe interaction time during the last hour. I plan to encourage the kids to help us help out the troops w/the books for soldiers. We try to teach them values such as respect and selflessness so this will be a great opportunity. Thanks for making us aware of this program.
dj
Good Morning Alisyn…
Mr. BonJovi seems to be doing some great work… Is it Jon’s own program, or a part of something else? It sound’s like Habitat for Humanity, but must not be since there was no mention by name. Is his work local only or does he look for projects nationwide?
Have a great day my friend!
It is so refreshing to hear about celebrities giving their time to help others in need. Frequently, celebrities are seen on t.v. telling the rest of us to donate our time or money to a certain charity and it leaves me wondering how much of their fast fortune they donate. Bon Jovi is leading by example. It is also refreshing to see someone of his status doing something to help his fellow Americans. I think the work celebrities do in 3rd world countries is wonderful, but we have so many people in our own country who are living in poor conditions that it is just wonderful to see JBJ doing what he can to help people in need at home.
finally, something decent and good from a celebrity. jon bon jovi has never really been anything else but decent. no get hime over to afganistan to entertain our beloved troops.
One thing wrong with this segment – It was too short! Who cares if Marie Osmond really fainted??
Thanks for covering this inspirational story.
The program Bon Jovi has sounds similar to Habitat for Humanity. Do the families that JBJ helps have to put in ’sweat equity’ (help with construction) in addition to paying for the home?
Are there any significant differences between his program and HfH?
Was there any reason he chose to set up his own program rather than work with HfH?
I have seen reports that often the run down inner-city neighborhoods lack decent grocery stores for the people to buy healthy, fresh food. Is JBJ doing anything to make sure there are the other neccesities to make this a recovering and good neighborhood?
Hi, Alisyn: Bon Jovi was not even a twinkle in his mom’s eye when I was listening to “Rock ‘N Roll”! lol But after this morning, count me in as as admirer. What a wonderful thing he is doing for these people. I am an “every morning fan” or Fox and Friends, and think you are all wonderful, good-hearted people. But I have one question: Is Brian REALLY as he appears? I really like it when he “speaks his own mind” about a topic. That’s because I agree with him…most of the time. Fox is always on in my house.
I have loved Bon Jovi forever, and I think what he is doing is great…I love it when rich people do kind things. However, if you want to do a REALLY great story on some REALLY great humanitarians helping the homeless of Philly, among others, check out thesimpleway. org or read Shane Claiborne’s unbelievable story in the book Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical. These people are living among the homeless of Philly, feeding them, providing shelter, and caring for them in extraordinary ways, and have altered their own lives to form a community with each other. Their community center in Kensington was destroyed by a fire back in the summer, and yet they press on. The fire also took their after school program. Here is some information on a movie screening I received this morning from Another World is Possible regarding the fire:
Just wanted to let you know the Kensington Fire Story, the neighborhood response to the 7 alarm warehouse blaze that destroyed The Simple Way’s Community Center and After School Program, will be screened as part of a film festival on:
Wednesday November 28th
Rembrandt’s
741 N. 23rd St. (corner of Aspen & 23rd St in Fairmount, near Eastern State Penn)
Philadelphia PA 19130
Doors open at 7:30pm and the show starts at 8pm. Stop on by and say hey to director & Simple Way Co-founder Jamie Moffett.
Hope to see you there!
Another great F&F First and ATSS … Wednesday’s F&FF is the best with the 3 Jersey kids yukking it up …
Looks like your HS buddies are happy with Mt Baker opening up tomorrow …
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/travel/2004037684_webbakerski27.html
I just wanted to share with you another site that supports our troops. It is http://www.anysoldier.com
It is a site that allows us to send mail directly to soldiers in war who do not receive any mail, or very little.
Please check out this site, and check out the short link to a film that describes how the site works, and testimonials from the soldiers themselves.
Thank you for supporting our troops on your show!
Always,
Carrie
Shalimar, Fl
I agree with you, Tiamat
They should have “The Judge” on F&FF at least twice a week.
A lot of you are asking about the similarities between this project and Habitat…
Jon is (I believe) the first ever international ambassador for Habitat for Humanity. From what I understand, this project was a pilot program for the new model going forward — Habitat has always been great in terms of disaster relief, etc. but the idea is for them to strengthen their focus on the struggles of the inner cities. Additionally, the fact that the houses are eco-friendly is not only good for the environment, but also saves the new homeowner money on utility costs.
Alisyn and Jon get a good plug from ICN:
http://insidecable.blogsome.com/
Alisyn, the Navy has a program similar to this. A qualifing organization can request the Navy, more specifically the Seabee’s, to build or construct a project. The organization suppies all the tools, equipment, and materials, and the Navy will supply the labor. We have done a lot of work for the American Indians. The Navy has also done work on tire recovery in Florida.
This is a great story you have done here. Keep up the good work.
EVERYTHING Jon Bon Jovi has been doing philanthropy wise in the past years is incredible! His football team is so involved in the community, on and off the field. His donation to Oprah’s Angel foundation was outstanding. Even in his town, helping to raise money for a local clinic, and raising over $40,000 for a school booster. Even his presence on the “Very Special Christmas” CDs over the past years. Woah, and his partnership with Kenneth Cole…. I mean, that’s probably not even the half of it. I was introduced to him in 2004, and he seemed like a very humble and down-to-earth(ish) guy.
Great clip!!
Books for Soldiers is a great group. Another REALLY good one is http://www.anysoldier.com It is self explanatory…any soldier can post a sort of wish list for their troops. Just click on “where to send” to begin reading the entries. Soon you will be hooked!
Please disregard the link in my above posting. Here is a functional link to the story on “Inside Cable News” blog.
http://insidecable.blogsome.com/2007/11/28/jon-bon-jovi-on-fox-and-friends/
I have been a huge fan of Bon Jovi since the beginning. I think Jon is a wonderful person. Every interview I have seen him on, he is so down to earth. He is always trying to find ways to give back to the communities. I just wish more celebrities would do the same. I feel Jon is very a grounded person and he doesn’t let his celebrity status go to his head. Keep up the good work Jon..we love you for it.
Books for Soldiers (BFS) is one of the best soldier support groups I have ever seen. This is my 3rd tour and I wish I had known about them for the first two. The supporters of BFS and the Adminstrators go way above and beyond the call of duty. At first we received simple items but as we started writing notes and thank you’s, we literally became overwhelmed by the good will and concern for soldier morale that so many Americans back at home have for us. It is great to know we are thought about and welcomed at home. I would like to say thank you to anyone who has ever sent a soldier anything or said a prayer for us but especially to the BFS supporters who spend countless hours and dollars making sure those of us at FOB Tombstone and all over SWA have the little things that make life here a bit better. Thanks, we love you all, Rangers Lead The Way!
ps. Thanks Janet for all you have done to make this happen. Happy Holidays.