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Lets his athletic roots fuel his passion to "give back" to the community
BY JERRY MILANI
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Richie Sambora has been a legendary rocker and is 100 percent New Jersey. So this coming Tuesday (Nov. 24), it should come as no surprise that he will start Thanksgiving a little early, coming home to his native Woodbridge to visit family and catch up with old friends.
But the reasons Sambora will be returning home are not just for a quick Turkey Day reunion.
Sambora's trip home is all about philanthropy, and his efforts to give back to a community who had given so much to him in terms of life lessons growing up as a student, an athlete, and a friend. On Tuesday, the lead guitarist for Bon Jovi will be participating in the dedication of the Adam Sambora Fitness Center, named in honor of his late father at his alma mater Woodbridge High School, where Sambora was a member of the basketball team.
He will also be escorting Kelly Mahon, a fellow Woodbridge alum and honor student who was stricken with a brain tumor during her senior year in 2007, to her newly refurbished home, where the Mahon family will be re-united for the first time in two years. Mahon is the primary focus of "You Can Go Home," a charity established by Sambora to raise funds for the family and inspire others to do community service. More than 5,000 students were invited to sell specially designed "You Can Go Home" key chains, and the student who sells the most will be awarded a $5,000 college scholarship by Sambora later this year.
"The people I met in high school, my classmates, my teammates and coaches, really helped me build a lot of the base for success that we have formed as a band with Bon Jovi, and if I can do these things to help give back to those kids, and one special kid in Kelly Mahon, it's the least that I can do," he said recently. "Maybe the actions of the students will help inspire others to help out in their communities."
While most of his time these days is spent with the band and tending to his family in his adopted home of Los Angeles, the long-time Knicks and Lakers fan can still draw inspiration from his high school athletic experience, where his play on the court helped Woodbridge to the New Jersey Group 4 State basketball title as a junior. The school will also be retiring Sambora's No. 11 at some point this winter, more as a thank you for all that he has done since his playing days for the community than for his time spent on the court — but a well deserved honor and acknowledgement nonetheless.
The fact remains that those lessons learned as an athlete and as a student have helped shape the work that Bon Jovi has done as a band in music and in their philanthropic efforts, and made Sambora's "You Can Go Home" a project that has already raised more than $125,000 and will inspire others through community service. All the details can be found at www.youcangohome.com.
