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PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Jon Bon Jovi keeps stuffing millions of fans in their seats in his roles as Grammy Award-winning rocker, supporting actor and Arena League Football owner.
Bon Jovi's most rewarding title, though, just may be philanthropist.
His primary mission has been the rehabilitation of dilapidated areas of North Philadelphia. Bon Jovi's already helped revitalize blocks in poverty-stricken neighborhoods, and on Friday he reached out to homeless veterans.
Bon Jovi teamed with Project H.O.M.E, an advocacy group that empowers people to break the cycle of homelessness and reach their potential as members of society, to help vets in need or with their addictions.
"It's a difference maker," Bon Jovi said Friday.
Bon Jovi and the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation are part of a combination of funders that donated $3.3 million to support the veteran's program and upgrade the facilities at St. Elizabeth's Recovery Residence. The funds for the residence, which held a groundbreaking ceremony Friday and is expected to be completed in the fall, will aid a housing project that provides a structured environment for veterans.
Bon Jovi, whose parents were both marines, has a special attachment to the area. Bon Jovi helped renovate 15 row houses in one of Philadelphia's most poverty-ridden neighborhoods and donates time and money to the area.
"The idea here was to use North Philly, 23rd street, as a model to bring back a neighborhood," Bon Jovi said. "Not every home on the block was renovated by the Soul Foundation, just the ones that needed our help."
Sister Mary Scullion, who has helped the homeless for 30 years and is co-founder of the group Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia, has worked with Bon Jovi for nearly three years and said the singer is sincere in shining a worldwide spotlight on the plight of the homeless.
"He truly is a phenomenal rock star and it's hard to comprehend he's with us here in North Central Philadelphia celebrating these accomplishments," Scullion said.
Scullion said the Soul Foundation has donated $2 million to the local community and continues to aid Project H.O.M.E (Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education).
"The Soul Foundation's romantic vision is that one street at a time, one neighborhood at a time, leads to one city at a time, to a state at a time, to a nation," Bon Jovi said. "I'm just building the model."
Wearing a white button-down shirt, sport coat and jeans, Bon Jovi took a break from his band's tour to show up in support of the project.
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