Friday, March 29, 2024

Jett Travolta Foundation Distributes Meager $40,000 So Far

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Two years and three months after John Travolta’s son Jett died, I wondered what had happened to the foundation that was set up in his memory. The answer: not much. According to the only tax filing so far for the Jett Travolta Foundation, John and wife Kelly Preston have parked a shockingly mere $39,530 in the account. Of that money, $28,000 was supposedly given as grants to someone. But there’s no detailed information in the tax filing, as required. Also, $1,200 was given to an unidentified child with “medical needs.”

The small amounts are a little surprising considering that Travolta is very wealthy, by his own account, with multiple homes and a flotilla of airplanes.

The Travoltas, of course, have put a prominent Scientologists in charge of the foundation: Kevin R. Rush is the treasurer. Rush, has worked his way up to Operating Thetan 8, which means he’s high on the list for members who can seek out alien life. Rush is otherwise identified as the CFO of JTP Films, Travolta’s production company, social networking site Linked In. The phone number for the foundation rings to the JTP offices. The other officer of the foundation is Robert Bernstein, a Jacksonville, Florida lawyer who specializes in estate planning and taxes.

So what happened to the Jett Travolta Foundation? On its website, the foundation states: “The Jett Travolta Foundation is a charitable organization recognized as tax exempt under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Jett Travolta Foundation shall endeavor to use its resources specifically to assist and provide relief to children with vision, hearing, mobility, communication, behavior learning impairments or other special medical, environmental, health or educational needs. It may also use its resources, and make grants to educate the public about the need for a clean environment, provide relief and assistance to children who are victims of natural or man-made disasters, and to fund children’s educational programs.”

So far it’s hard to say if any of that has happened since no documentation is included with the filing. And since John Travolta admitted to the Bahamas Police that Jett suffered from Autism, maybe it would be better to spell that out in the mission statement.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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