Bon Jovis push fund-raising campaign to save Ben Franklin's gravestone over the top
A campaign to raise $10,000 to save Benjamin Franklin's gravestone at the Christ Church Burial Ground across from Independence Mall has surpassed its goal thanks in large part to a $5,000 contribution from rocker Jon Bon Jovi and his wife, Dorothea.
The Philadelphia Eagles also kicked in $1,000.
The GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $12,000 as of lunchtime Wednesday, including many small donations from admirers of the founding father.
The Christ Church Preservation Trust says the simple marble ledger tablet has developed a significant crack on top of the pitting caused by the tens of thousands of pennies tossed onto the marker annually in tribute to Franklin, who coined the adage that "a penny saved, is a penny earned."
Franklin, who died in 1790, is one of seven signers of the Declaration of Independence buried at the two-acre graveyard at Fifth and Arch Streets. It also is the final resting place of five delegates to the Constitution Convention, including Franklin.
The foundation said it had raised $66,000 to restore the gravestone before launching the GoFundMe campaign.
The Bon Jovis made their $5,000 donation Tuesday afternoon.