Benefit article #2
Jon Bon Jovi Help School Raise Funds
RUMSON, N.J. (AP) - Jon Bon Jovi (news) took a break from his international tour to help a high school group raise $36,500 for a local medical clinic.
Bon Jovi, whose band played shows in Australia earlier this week, performed 10 songs during his appearance Thursday at Rumson-Fair Haven High School. The show was benefit performance for the Parker Family Health Center, a Red Bank-based free clinic that counts the singer and his family among its benefactors.
Bon Jovi performed some of his best-known hits, a few numbers from his new CD, "Bounce," and his version of the Elvis Presley (news) song "That's All Right, Mama." Bon Jovi, who lives in nearby Middletown Township, was backed by a five-piece band that included two musicians — keyboardist Dave Bryan and bassist Hugh McDonald — who regularly perform with his group.
"We're here to make a difference," Bon Jovi told the crowd that packed into the Monmouth County school's 750-seat auditorium. The $35 tickets for the event, sponsored by the school's Spanish Honor Society, were sold mostly to students, although some parents and faculty also came out.
Eugene Cheslock, the clinic's director, said Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea, held a party at their home last year to raise money that was used to buy land for an expanded clinic. The new facility, expected to open next year, will replace the trailer that now houses the clinic.
Bon Jovi said he receives numerous requests to appear at charity shows, so he tries to attend events that will have a broad impact.
"Thirty percent of Americans don't have health insurance," the singer said. "There's an astronomical need for places like this."
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