The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every New Jerseyan somehow, be it physically, financially or emotionally.
Tonight's #Jersey4Jersey benefit for the NJ Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF) will address the fiscal needs of state nonprofits working to help the most vulnerable New Jerseyans.
NJ First Lady Tammy Murphy, who organized the unique event, says it will also be a much needed one-hour mental break from the crisis.
"Every time you pick up the news or turn on the news or read the newspaper, everything you can read is about coronavirus," Murphy tells Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr and Shelli Sonstein. "I think everybody needs a little bit of a mental timeout, which is another reason why I'm excited about tonight. It's going to be a virtual hug for our entire state and give everybody a chance to have one advertising-free hour where everybody across the state — no matter where they are — can tune in and hear New Jersey's giants trying to raise money and lend a helping hand for those who need it across the state."
You can hear #Jersey4Jersey on your radios at 7 p.m. or watch the broadcast on ABC 7.
As far as booking a virtual event with more than a dozen Garden State celebrities, Murphy says there was one trick: get Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi to say yes.
"New Jersey has so much talent, it's extraordinary," Murphy said of the bill. "Curating that talent into one hour is really complicated because there's many people who have been left off. That speaks volumes for New Jersey. The people who stepped up and said that they wanted to take part in this are just so wonderful and so dedicated to this state and it just makes me happy. It's really unbelievable."
Fortunately, The Boss and Bon Jovi were eager to help, so other musicians like Halsey, Tony Bennett, SZA, Charlie Puth and the surviving members of the Fountains of Wayne jumped on board. So too did the likes of Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Chelsea Handler, Danny DeVito, Whoopi Goldberg, Kelly Ripa and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley.
The NJPRF will distribute money raised tonight to organizations throughout the state that need funding. Murphy says the NJPRF has received about 300 grant applications so far. Last week, it awarded 108 grants. As of this morning, it had awarded another 18.
After #Jersey4Jersey, Murphy added that people are invited to play a special New Jersey-themed HQ Trivia at 9 p.m. HQ is donating $1 to the NJPRF for everyone who joins this evening's game.
Listen to the full conversation with First Lady Murphy in the player above or here via iHeartRadio.
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