Two-hour global telethon will air Friday, January 22
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean will join George Clooney and CNN’s Anderson Cooper in hosting MTV Networks’ “
Hope for Haiti Now,” the global two hour telethon to air commercial-free across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, and CMT plus CNN International, National Geographic and MTV on
Friday, January 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
“Hope for Haiti Now” will feature performances and celebrity appearances to be announced in the coming days, as well as live news reports from CNN. Clooney will host from Los Angeles, Wyclef Jean will be in New York and Anderson Cooper will be live from the devastation, with the Hollywood actor lining up a who’s who of guests to drop by and perform on the night.
All proceeds will be split evenly among five relief organizations who are on the ground helping the people of Haiti: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation. Both Facebook and MySpace have signed on as official social-media partners to help steer viewers to the telethon and drive donations.
Celebrities across the fame spectrum have harnessed social-networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to rally support for the Haitian people, announcing their personal donations or directing their fans to contribute to deserving aid groups.
Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean has become the unofficial face of this celebrity humanitarian movement. More than $1 million has flooded in to Jean’s Yéle Haiti since Tuesday, according the charity’s fund-raising organizers. The Hollywood Foreign Press announced it would donate $100,000 to Yéle, while figures such as Lindsay Lohan, MC Hammer, and Haitian-born soccer star Jozy Altidor have tweeted their support for Jean’s cause.
Producing the telethon will be Joel Gallen, who produced the 9/11 telethon “America: A Tribute to Heroes” that aired 10 days after that tragedy.
The Christian Science Monitor reports that several other celebrities are using their social clout and talent to direct attention to Haiti.
Cyclist Lance Armstrong announced to his 2.3 million Twitter followers that his Livestrong foundation had pledged $250,000 to two humanitarian aid groups.
Actors-turned-philanthropists Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $1 million to the Doctors Without Borders organization; Oprah began her talk show Wednesday by asking viewers to contribute to the Red Cross; Coldplay front man Chris Martin is urging his fans to donate to Haiti via Oxfam; and even Paris Hilton promoted the efforts of the Red Cross via Twitter.
Meanwhile, magician David Blaine is taking a slightly more hands-on approach. At 9 a.m. Friday, Blaine started what will be a 72-hour, nonstop “Magic Marathon” in Times Square. Benefits of the event and all proceeds from his online store will be given to the Red Cross.
But George Clooney isn’t the only celeb tapping his golden connections. East Coast nightlife guru Unik Ernest, whose Edeyo Foundation supports community-building projects in Haiti, has begun organizing a telethon and benefit concert. While the date of the event is yet to be released, celebrities said to be featured include: Rihanna, Usher, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Mark Wahlberg, Jay-Z, Susan Sarandon, Leonardo DiCaprio, and others, according to Tonic.com.
Celebrity support of the Haitian people has contributed to the success of this week’s aid efforts. The American Red Cross reported Wednesday evening that in the 48 hours following the quake some $35 million in donations had poured in – more than it had received in the two days following Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunamis.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Filed under ABC, Anderson Cooper, Art, Barack Obama, Charity, Children, CMT, CNN, Comedy Central, Countries, Culture, Dancing, Disaster, Earthquake, Entertainment, Facebook, Haiti, HBO, Health, History, Hollywood, Hunger, Los Angeles, CA, Media and Entertainment, Medicine, Military, Movies, MSNBC, MTV, Music, Musicals, MySpace, Networks, New York, NY, News, Philanthropy, Pop Culture, Presidents, San Francisco, CA, Technology, Television, Twitter, Uncategorized, United Nations, US, VH1, Video/YouTube, Volunteerism, Women's Issues, World
Tagged as abc, American, and CMT, Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Armstrong, BET, blaine, Brad Pitt, CBS, celebrity, celebrity-studded, Chris, christian, clooney, CNN, coldplay, cooper, cross, CW, Cyclist, david, Doctors Without Borders, donations, facebook, for, foundation, Fox, fundraiser, Gallen, Geographic, george, hbo, hilton, Hollywood, hope, Hope for Haiti, hour, hurricane, Indian, international, Jean, Joel, Katrina, lance, Livestrong, magic, magician, marathon, martin, millions, Monitor, MTV, myspace, National, NBC, ocean, online, oprah, oxfam, paris, people, philanthropists, Red, science, square, star, stars, studded, support, telecast, Telethon, the, times, tsumamis, tube, Twitter, two, UNICEF, vh1, video, worldwide, Wyclef, Yele, you
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Vodpod videos no longer available. 
44-D 