Celebrities and Haiti

Natural disasters are communality in the world today and when disaster strikes, relief organizations move into action providing food, aid, water and other necessary materials to help people survive the aftermath of that disaster. On January 12th 2010 at 4:53PM a 7.0 earthquake hit the country of Haiti. Houses slid down mountainsides, buildings crumbled, and thousands were injured and killed, leaving an already vulnerable and impoverished country in total chaos.
Within hours of the earthquake, musician Wyclef Jean put out a call to action. The Haitian-born singer took to the airwaves, asking the world and his celebrity friends to come forward and help.
Celebrities jump to take action during a time of crisis, whether it is in an act of charity or just to gain better publicity they rush to partner with an aid organization and encourage the world to raise funds for the afflicted area. After Wylcef's plea for help the Hollywood celebrity scene got on board; donating money, doing PSA's for Haiti and holding fundraisers- such as the ever popular telethon- Hope for Haiti- generated by George Clooney.


The influence of the celebrity and Haitian relief pushed fans and ordinary people to give any amount and utilizing new technology, such as using your cell phone, patrons could text their donations text HAITI to 50555 making a $5 donation to an organization.
Next celebrities took to the airwaves and remade a version of We are the World, with proceeds going to Haiti. In February 2010 "We Are the World: 25 for Haiti" became a charity single recorded by the 85 Artists for Haiti in 2010. It is a remake of the 1985 hit song "We Are the World", which was written by American musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and was recorded by USA for Africa to benefit famine relief in Africa.


In the wake of the disaster in Haiti celebrities have gotten on board and pushed to raise funds and awareness for Haiti. The momentum was strong, but five months after the earthquake the tide has settled and the celebrity effort has died down. Look at this trend or rise and fall I cannot help but wonder who wins and who loses in this dilemma. The people of Haiti still need help and if the celebrity machine that was driving loses focus then the people of Haiti are forgotten. The influence of the celebrity can be powerful and that strength of star power has the ability to raise funds and get money to Haiti. Even if the act for the cause is selfish, the act is still impactful and can make a difference and get people engaged in the issue. Haiti still needs help to rebuild and recover from the earthquake and the celebrity machine is a crucial part of keeping Haiti on our lips and in our minds.