NEW YORK,NY. (Top40 Charts/ Delta Air Lines) - Delta Air Lines is joining rock icon and philanthropist Jon Bon Jovi, Habitat for Humanity and members of the
Arena Football League (AFL) team, The Philadelphia Soul, to announce its commitment to two Habitat projects in Brooklyn, N.Y., further demonstrating the airline's dedication to New York. Working with Habitat for Humanity - New York City, Delta volunteers are helping complete Habitat-NYC's
Halsey Street project in Bedford-Stuyvesant, and the airline is pledging financial support to build at Habitat-NYC's Atlantic Avenue project in Ocean Hill-Brownsville. The two projects are part of Delta's Force for Global Good, a global initiative with a focus on uniting the airline's employees and customers in support of corporate philanthropic and social responsibility efforts.
Today, Jon, Habitat for Humanity's Founding Ambassador, is partnering with Delta Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastian and 40 Delta employees from the New York area and around the country to kick off the two-day build that will help complete a nine-unit, three-story condominium complex on Halsey Street and Marcus Garvey Boulevard. Three members of the Philadelphia Soul, which is co- owned by Bon Jovi, also joined the Habitat build team, including Sean Scott, Duane Missouri and Mike Brown. At the build site, Bastian presented a check to Jon Bon Jovi's Philadelphia Soul Foundation, which will be used to fund multiple Habitat homes, including Habitat-NYC's Atlantic Avenue project.
In December 2006, Jon joined Delta to announce the formation of Delta's Force for Global Good and its first official partner, Habitat for Humanity International. The two organizations convened in Johannesburg, South Africa to build four homes in the Katlehong township as part of the airline's first global build. Delta's Force for Global Good leverages the combined assets of Delta's vast global network of nearly 47,000 employees who volunteer their time and Delta's charitable foundation to support the global communities where Delta customers and employees live and work.
"Delta is proud to join forces again with Jon and Habitat for Humanity International, our Delta's Force for Global Good founding partner, to pledge our physical and financial commitment to creating much-needed, affordable housing," said Ed Bastian, Delta's chief financial officer. "As New York City's largest airline, it is only fitting we are participating in these two very important Brooklyn builds."
"In my role as a Habitat for Humanity Ambassador, I'm pleased to see that a global company like Delta Air Lines has committed both funding and the time of its employees to the work of Habitat," said Jon Bon Jovi. "I can speak from experience that Delta's employees who are committing their time to Habitat will feel proud and moved by their dedicated efforts. They will encourage others to become involved and share in the rebuilding of their own communities."
"We are delighted that Delta Air Lines and its volunteers, side by side with Jon Bon Jovi and members of the Philadelphia Soul, are giving their support - and their labor - to build homes for New Yorkers in need," said Roland Lewis, executive director of Habitat for Humanity - New York City. "Delta, with its strong base of employees in New York City, understands the depth our city's housing crisis and is committed to working, not just for these two days, but for the cause."
The completion of the Halsey Street Project will bring the number of Habitat homes in Bedford-Stuyvesant to 41. Nicknamed "The Coffee Cup Building," this is one of the first structures in New York City to incorporate energy-efficient Insulated Concrete Forms, made of polystyrene similar to insulated coffee cups. The forthcoming Atlantic Avenue project is a 41-unit "green" complex, located at Atlantic Avenue and Eastern Parkway, will offer affordable one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums to eligible New Yorkers. Scheduled to break ground shortly, the new condominiums will be part of a national model project in affordable green building and are being built to meet the highest healthy and energy-efficient "green" standards. Habitat-NYC homeowners will benefit from eco-friendly building materials and methods that protect their health, as well as lower energy bills to help keep their homes affordable. The development includes three buildings, each with its own entrance lobby with mailboxes, a community room, laundry room and access to the shared, landscaped yard. The yard will be designed for passive recreation, with seating areas, landscaped areas and garden areas.
Jon Bon Jovi is the first Founding Ambassador of the Habitat for Humanity Ambassador program. His support for Habitat for Humanity began in 2005 when he provided the funds to build six homes in Philadelphia and worked to build the homes with the homeowner families and members of his Philadelphia Soul Arena Football Team. Later, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Jon Bon Jovi surprised Oprah Winfrey with a check from his band for $1 million. Bon Jovi, Habitat, and Oprah's Angel Network built 29 homes in Houma, La. with low- income families previously displaced by the natural disaster. Then, in October 2006, Jon announced a unique partnership he brokered between Project H.O.M.E., Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia Soul Charitable Foundation and Saturn to renovate 15 row houses in one of Philadelphia's most poverty-ridden neighborhoods. Including those 15 homes, Jon is currently a motivating force behind a total of 49 homes being built in partnership with low-income families.
