Bon Jovi and Murphy Join Forces to Help the Ukrainian People
With an initial $500,000 motivational pledge from philanthropists Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, Governor Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy today announced the launch of a $1,000,000 challenge grant to support food security for the displaced Ukrainian people. All funds will be collected through the newly established non-profit “Together for Ukraine“ hosted by the Community Foundation of New Jersey (“CFNJ“). CFNJ will be monitoring all incoming donations and release the matching funds to a single beneficiary, World Central Kitchen (“WCK“) for their work in shoring up food security for the people of Ukraine.
Donations can be made at cfnj.org/ukraine.WCK is a non-profit organization that provides fresh meals in response to crises and has been on the ground in full force since the day after the war erupted. The response started on the Poland-Ukraine border but has since expanded to over 30 cities in Ukraine itself, and six additional countries: Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia, and Spain. Given that all administrative expenses are being funded, every dollar donated through CFNJ will be matched, working toward the ultimate goal of $2 million.“From the first days of this awful war, we knew we couldn’t sit on the sidelines,” Phil and Tammy Murphy said. “And every single day, we’ve been asked by New Jerseyans how to help the citizens of Ukraine who are bravely fighting and enduring Russia’s unjust aggression. Thanks to the incredible generosity and momentum of our good friends Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, we together are now enabling others a path to help relieve the suffering on the ground.““Fighting hunger and food insecurity is central to our philanthropic work for the past several decades, in New Jersey and Beyond,” said Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi. “We’ve partnered with Chef Jose Andres in the past and know first-hand the tremendous work they do. World Central Kitchen’s efforts to provide meals to the people of Ukraine on the ground and at border crossings, all while supporting local economic drivers, is absolutely critical right now.”
In addition to the Bon Jovi donation, the other seven founding donors to the matching challenge corpus include corporate foundations such as Saker ShopRites, family foundations such as The Philip and Tammy Murphy Family Foundation, and individuals such as Vincent and Ellen Forlenza and Howard and Betty Pantirer Schwartz.World Central Kitchen is a non-profit organization that provides fresh meals in response to crises while working to build resilient food systems with locally led solutions.“There are many ways to fight. Every meal served brings relief, and we are proud to be supporting incredible chefs and restaurants cooking to support on the frontlines in Ukraine,” said José Andrés, founder of World Central Kitchen. “Thank you to Dorothea and Jon Bon Jovi, Governor Phil Murphy, and First Lady Tammy Murphy for helping World Central Kitchen put hot plates of food in the hands of those who need it most, and for supporting the people of Ukraine in this long, difficult fight.”World Central Kitchen is distributing about 300,000 meals per day in over hundreds of distribution sites across seven countries, and is focused on providing meals for as many people as possible at border crossings, shelters, and other locations along the journey by working with local restaurants, caterers, and food trucks. WCK is also cooking meals from its own field kitchen in Przemyśl, Poland. Since the invasion began, the organization has provided over six million meals. 100 percent of the funds raised through this effort will go directly to World Central Kitchen.
For more information about how to help, please go to cfnj.org/ukraine/.
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No matter what the cause or the issue, the Murphy’s are always at the forefront to assist and move the effort forward.
God Bless our great Governor and First Lady and family.
Bob Knapp, Jersey City
As nice as this is the Knights of Columbus established a donation platform where all donations up to $500,000.00 will be matched by the Knights shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine. 100% of the money is going directly towards medicine, food, clothing, etc. for Ukrainians.