With his band’s summer tour canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, Jon Bon Jovi had a lot of time on his hands. But he didn’t spend it lounging around the house.
The singer and musician headed to JBJ Soul Kitchen, run by the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation. The nonprofit community restaurant serves both paying and in-need patrons, but could provide only takeout meals during the pandemic. That meant the kitchen needed help.
Bon Jovi jumped in to do whatever was needed. What was needed was a dishwasher. Wife Dorothea posted of photo on Instagram of her husband scrubbing at the sink and captioned it, “If you can’t do what you do... do what you can!”
“There’s an in-need population here in New Jersey who depend on us,” Bon Jovi told CNN in April. “Hence, the All-Star Hall of Fame dishwasher is back in business.”
New Jersey is now allowing outside dining, so the restaurant’s volunteer kitchen staff has returned and Bon Jovi has stepped aside.
During its 13 weeks of takeout only, CNN reported, the singer was in the kitchen five days a week. The restaurant “provided more than 7,800 to-go meals to individuals, families, community partners and frontline workers,” CNN said.
To date, the restaurant has served 120,418 in-need meals. Of those, 46% were paid for through volunteering, and 54% were paid for through donations. If you’d like to help, you can donate here.