The entire world has been shocked by the news of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti. It seems that the numbers of those who died range from 50,000 to at least 200,000. Six days after the tragedy, food and water are finally reaching some parts of the capital Port-au-Prince, but relief efforts are being slowed down. Therefore, some artists decided to show that they care about the survivors of the earthquake and to get involved in a telethon on January 22nd.
“Hope for Haiti” will be broadcasted by ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, the CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT and it will also be available internationally. It will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will run commercial-free.

The organizer of the fundraising event, actor George Clooney, said that the aim of the telethon was “to show the people of Haiti that the whole world is paying attention”. He announced that more than 40 celebrities were expected to attend the “Hope for Haiti”, including big names such as Bono, Justin Timberlake and Alicia Keys, Sting and Christina Aguilera. Clooney said that songs from participating artists would be made available on iTunes, with proceeds going to the relief effort.

Moreover, Haitian-born singer Wyclef Jean will co-host the show from New York, George Clooney will host the Los Angeles part and CNN’s Anderson Cooper will be in Haiti. The show will benefit Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation, as well as UNICEF, Oxfam America, Partners in Health, and the Red Cross.
Wyclef’s charitable foundation, Yéle Haiti, raised rumors last week after watch groups discovered some irregularities about expenses paid to businesses owned by Jean and another member of the board. The singer replied in a Youtube video saying, “I gotta tell you, coming back in here after digging kids up . . . and finding cemeteries for them . . . this is what I come back to: an attack on my integrity and my foundation, Yele Haiti. . . . You can donate to whatever charity you want to.” Still, the organizers of the Golden Globes donated $100,000 to Jean’s Yele Haiti Earthquake Fund, while several guests raised awareness of the ongoing relief effort.

Furthermore, Lady Gaga, who will not attend the broadcasted telethon, announced that she cares of the suffering Haitians and that all proceeds from her concert at New York’s Radio City Music Hall on January 24th will be donated to the Haitan relief effort.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010 at 8:32 am and is filed under News.