The devastation in Haiti came as a sudden shock to many people across the world as bodies are still being recovered through the wreckage that consumed a third of the country’s capital, Port-Au-Prince. People across the world, especially in Miami were frantically calling the island to reach their loved ones hoping for some type of reassurance that their relatives would be safe and sound. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the country during a time when their economy was still in rebuilding status; the damage is so severe that experts say it will take years and a large amount of money to rebuild the shaken country.

After the devastation, many people sought to find any possible venue to send money or supplies to the country, anything to provide help and support. Artists across the industry have even flocked to their twitter, MySpace, Facebook, radio, putting together fundraisers, anything to urge the people to donate to the devastation in Haiti. The country’s voice for the past decade, Wyclef Jean, has been all over the place rising close to $2 million for the country that we know he loves dearly. Many artists are content on pushing the text messaging system that has been going across the nation asking for monetary donations by texting: “Yele” to 501501, it automatically adds $5.00 donation to your phone bill. If you haven’t already we ask that you do so.

The Yele system has been successful since its initial launch, the organization announced on Friday (January 15). Through Wyclef and many major networks and organization, they were able to put together an amazing telethon to raise money for the devastation in Haiti. This will be an amazing global event that already has a phenomenal lineup to include new added performances by Madonna (performing in New York) and Haitian artist Emeline Michel (in Los Angeles) as they will join the previously announced lineup of musical performances: Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira and Sting in New York; Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow in Los Angeles; and Beyoncé, Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna in London, lineup according to MTV. Participants in attendance will also include George Clooney (who helped organize the event), Bill Clinton, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Robert Pattinson, Tom Hanks, Muhammad Ali, Will Smith, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Clint Eastwood, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jon Stewart, Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Samuel L. Jackson, and many, many more.

‘Hope for Haiti Now’ will air across ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, CMT, PBS, TNT, Showtime, Comedy Central, Bravo, E! Entertainment, National Geographic Channel, Oxygen, G4, CENTRIC, Current TV, Fuse, MLB Network, EPIX, Palladia, SoapNet, Style, Discovery Health, Planet Green, CNN en Español, HBO Latino, and Canadian networks including CBC Television, CTV, Global Television, and MuchMusic. The event will be live streamed online globally across sites including YouTube, Hulu, MySpace, Fancast, AOL, MSN.com, Yahoo, Bing.com, BET.com, CNN.com, MTV.com, VH1.com, and Rhapsody and on mobile via Alltel, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and FloTV. It will also air internationally on BET International, CNN International, National Geographic, and MTV Networks International, which is available in 640 million homes worldwide. ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ will be available non-exclusively to all terrestrial radio stations around the globe and SIRIUS XM Radio as a onetime only radio broadcast via the MTV Radio Network and Westwood One.

All Music performances from ‘Hope for Haiti Now’ will be available for purchase and download on the iTunes Store. Beginning on Friday, iTunes customers will be able to exclusively pre-order both the Hope for Haiti Now full performance album ($7.99) and the full two-hour video telecast ($1.99). Pre-orders will be delivered in the days following the telethon. Individual audio performances will also be available for purchase and download for 99 cents each in the days following the telethon. Apple, the record labels and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief funds managed by “Hope for Haiti Now” charities.

‘Hope for Haiti Now’ airs on Friday at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT andwill begin accepting donations at 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT on Friday via the following methods:

Online: www.hopeforhaitinow.org
Phone: 877-99-HAITI
Text: Text “GIVE” to 50555
Mail: Hope for Haiti Now Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation,

1201 West 5th Street, Suite T-700

Los Angeles, CA 90017