How Richie Sambora Is Doing His Part for L.A. Fire Relief — from His Mom’s N.J. Basement 2,700 Miles Away (Exclusive)

When the Lahaina fire hit Hawaii in 2023, rocker Richie Sambora gave back by doing what he does best: rocking out with pals like Sammy Hagar and Alice Cooper.

So when a series of fires devastated Los Angeles earlier this month, it was a no-brainer that the musician, 65, would do his part in organizing relief.

Sambora announced on X that he’ll match all revenue generated by streams of his single “I Pray,” which he released in April, and will donate the money to causes helping those who have lost everything and to those working on the front lines.

The former Bon Jovi rocker tells PEOPLE that the idea came to him in the middle of the night as he was scrolling through X (formerly Twitter), and realized that they lyrics of “I Pray” could easily be applied to the aftermath of the fires, which have so far killed at least 25 people and destroyed more than 12,000 structures in the Los Angeles area.

“A couple of my fans were saying ‘I Pray’ would be so perfect for these fires now. I hadn’t listened to it in a couple of months and I went, ‘S—, I hit the nail on the head and I wasn’t even trying’,” he says. “The world is in pretty s— shape at the moment, so sometimes I write as a reporter. I was basically praying for, and not even in a religious way… I got on my social media and went, ‘I will take all the money from the streams, match it, and put it toward the L.A. fires.”

The cause is personal to Sambora, who lives in the Los Angeles area and had to lean on friends to help make sure his collection of guitars was safe from the flames. The star was far from the scene, as he’s spent the last seven months living in the New Jersey basement of his mother Joan’s house, taking care of her amid health struggles. Joan celebrated her 89th birthday on Jan. 15.

With his homes unoccupied, Sambora has even opened his doors to displaced friends, who moved into his L.A.-area home about four days ago, after the residence got power back. He notes that there are two families now living there, while daughter Ava, 27, whom he shares with ex-wife Heather Locklear, is hosting three couples who lost their homes in the Palisades fire.

“I have such gratitude. I have a very lucky life, you know, because I made it out of rock and roll alive and intact,” he says.

In recent months, the singer-songwriter has been enjoying the release of a slew of new singles, including “I Pray,” “Livin’ Alone,” “Songs That Wrote My Life” and “Believe (In Miracles),” which came out in April and May.

Sambora also appeared in the new Netflix documentary Norman’s Rare Guitars, which hit the streaming platform last month. In the documentary, which focuses on the famed vintage guitar shop in L.A., owner Norman Harris tells the sweet story of Sambora’s friendship with teenager Kyle Grady, who died of cancer in 2012.

Prior to his death, Grady came into Harris’ store and declared himself a “big fan” of Sambora’s while asking Harris to give the rocker a cassette tape of Grady playing some of his songs.

Instead of just listening to the tapes, Sambora did one better, heading over to Harris’ store to meet Grady in person. The two struck up a friendship, and remained in touch until Grady’s death at age 20.

“It’s a very, very, very hard thing to do,” Sambora says in the doc of spending time with sick children. “You just bring hope and you talk to them almost in an existential manner… It’s more like being a friend. You have to have a conversation with them from past, present and future.”

Click here to learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.

Source people.com