Mary Ann and I have blogged about social consciousness as a part of green living and following the horrific 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, several celebrities are stepping up to help.
Definitely putting their money where their mouths are (or in this case, their hearts) is Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. While I would expect Brad and Angelina to donate – they definitely have a history of being an altruistic couple – I was very happy to read that they donated $1 million dollars to Doctors Without Borders. This team of medical professionals has dispatched staff, including surgeons, to Haiti to set up a 100-bed inflatable tent emergency hospital that includes two operating rooms.
Viacom, Inc. has set up a $500,000 matching gift program for all those who donate to the Red Cross while the Walt Disney Co. also pledged $100,000 to organization.
Wyclef Jean, a Haitian native, has asked people to donate to his charity, Yele. He released a statement Wednesday that read “I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse,” he said in a statement. “The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.” Shakira too has encouraged people to donate to Yele as well as UNICEF to help the relief efforts.
Oprah asked her viewers to donate to the Red Cross saying “This is a time where we, as a global nation, should come together and support those who are in need.” Coldplay’s frontman Christ Martin asked fans to donate to Oxfam International. The singer traveled to Haiti a few years ago and said the earthquake has turned Port-au-Prince into “an unimaginable hell.”
Spreading the word by Twitter was Ben Stiller, Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Adam Lambert, and Ryan Leslie. Celebrities attending the Golden Globes can have donations to made in their honor by visiting the Platinum Publicity Hollywood Helping Haiti lounge.
Here are a few of the charities accepting donations for the people of Haiti if you would like to contribute:
(This image is in the public domain because it was created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that “NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted”.)