Saturday, December 21, 2024

Jett Travolta Foundation: 10 Percent Goes to Scientology

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You may wonder whatever happened to the Jett Travolta Foundation. The 16 year old autistic son of John Travolta and Kelly Preston died after hitting his head during a seizure in the Bahamas on January 2, 2009. Since then, a foundation set up in his name has given away roughly $56,000 according to the organization’s Form 990 filings.

The 2009 filing doesn’t list specifics, but the newest filing–for 2010–shows that 14 separate donations were made in Jett’s name on March 23, 2010. Of the group totaling $27,850, one — for $2,500–was made to a Scientology detox charity in Ocala, Florida. The others included $5,000 apiece to the Starlight Children’s Foundation and the No Limits Limbs Loss Foundation, and $2,500 to the Marion County Sheriff’s Foundation in Ocala, Florida–where the Travoltas live.

The Travoltas also gave $250 to the Ehlers Danlos Syndrome Foundation — it’s a disease affecting loose joints and hyperelastic skin–but nothing for autism research (Travolta told the Bahamas police in their report that Jett was autistic) or Kawasaki Syndrome, which the couple always insisted was the illness that afflicted their son. Other donations included $2,500 to Central Florida Community College for a scholarship in Jett’s memory. In February 2010 the Travoltas held a fundraising screening for their Foundation; some of the proceeds went to the Scientology detox for firefighters in their community. http://www.cf.edu/news/archive/Travoltatickets011910.htm

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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