Heart of Camden Gala...
Saturday, December 3, 2011
“We are big believers in the power of we,” said the singer, founder of the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. “Tonight we’re here to shine a light. We’re coming together to take control and make a difference.
“Government can’t do it alone. Residents or rock stars can’t do it alone. This award is not about me, it’s about us.”
The musician’s philanthropic efforts in the Delaware Valley began in 2006 when he helped support the construction of nearly 300 affordable housing units in Philadelphia.
In 2009, he turned his attention to Camden, and in the last two years his foundation has helped to clean up vacant lots, provide shelter for the homeless and — with a $262,000 grant to Heart of Camden — build nine homes in the Waterfront South area.
Heart of Camden Executive Director Helen Pierson said, “Jon Bon Jovi’s work, his spirit and the mission of his foundation is to help the families of Camden. He’s trying to give people better lives. And that fits the mission of the award.”
The award takes its names from the words of the late missionary Mother Teresa, who said, “We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”
The inspiration for the Heart of Camden Gala, said event co-chair Ann Baiada, was the “20/20” segment on Camden hosted by Diane Sawyer that aired in 2007.
“(Sawyer) mirrored the lives of kids in Moorestown with the kids in Camden,” said Baiada. “And I felt bad because we live in Moorestown. We had to do something. We finally met with Monsignor (Michael) Doyle and he told us, ‘just think of the children.’”
Doyle is the longtime pastor at Camden’s Sacred Heart Church, which started Heart of Camden in 1984.
“So last year we had our first gala and we honored Msgr. Doyle,” Baiada continued, noting that the $175 tickets to the event sold out quickly.
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