Music Industry Reaches Out To Haiti

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In response to the powerful 7.2 earthquake in Haiti, the music industry has rapidly pooled resources through a variety of charitable efforts to aid the victims of a country that was already plagued by the highest poverty level of any nation in the western hemisphere. However, help is pouring out from the heart of many singers, songwriters, musicians, and performers from around the world.

Rapper Wyclef Jean, a native of the Caribbean country, reportedly raised one million dollars in donations through his Yele Haiti Foundation (www.yele.org). He has also helped to put together the “Hope For Haiti” telethon of Jan. 22.

Hope For Haiti

The “Hope For Haiti” telethon consists of three separate events simulcast from Los Angeles, New York City and Haiti. Jean will serve as the NY host while actor George Clooney hosts from LA , and Anderson Cooper of CNN hosts from Haiti. The event airs live and commercial free at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, BET, CBS, CMT, CNN, The CW, FOX, HBO, MTV, NBC, and VH1, with Facebook and MySpace along as official social-media support. Performers for the event include Bono, Taylor Swift, Shakira, Sting, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys, as well as Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, and Twilight star Robert Pattinson. Funds collected will be equally divided among Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti.

Wyclef’s sister, Melky Jean, a Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter, operates The Carma Foundation (carmafoundation.org), which works to improve the health, education, job skills, and other needs of impoverished and at risk women and children.

Hands And Feet

Mark Stuart is in Haiti with the Hands and Feet Project , the orphange in Jacmel, Haiti, founded by Stuart’s band, Audio Adrenaline. The orphange in Jacmel has been impacted by the quake. Updates on the Hands & Feet website (handsandfeetproject.org/home.php) report the kids are all safe, but they are still experiencing many aftershocks, some quite powerful. In a recent update Stuart reported that doctors at the Jacmel hospital have been heartened by the arrival of much needed medicine and supplies.

“The planes coming in are so beautiful,” Stuart stated. “We were able to get water this afternoon. We’ve had a few women bring babies to us whose parents or families had been killed, but all of them wanted help, not to leave the babies with us. So that’s a good thing. We’re feeling more hopeful.”

Music For Relief

Music For Relief, a non-profit organization founded by Linkin Park following the 2004 Asian tsunamis, is also making a difference. Alanis Morissette, The All-American Rejects, Dave Matthews Band, Enrique Iglesias, Hoobastank, Kenna, Linkin Park, Lupe Fiasco, Peter Gabriel, Slash, and Linkin Park have donated previously unreleased music to help raise funds and promote awareness of the recovery efforts. You can visit the Music for Relief website (musicforrelief.org) to download songs. After downloading, you’ll be prompted to donate any amount to help with relief efforts.

Cash + Taylor + Gaga

At City Winery, a club in New York City, Patti Smith, Rosanne Cash, The Antlers, Josh Ritter, The Swell Season and David Johansen are among those who will appear at a series of benefit shows (Jan. 20, 21, 24, 25) to raise money for the Yele Haiti Foundation.

In Great Barrington, Mass., James Taylor and his wife, Kim, have organized a benefit for Haitian earthquake victims. The event features many of Taylor’s longtime backup vocalists, as well as cellist Owen Young of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Lady Gaga will reportedly donate all proceeds from her Jan. 24 show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall to Haitian relief efforts, along with all purchases made at her web store, including a special Haitian-relief T-shirt made for the occasion. Visit her site for details (ladygaga.com).

Red Hot + Others

The Red Hot Organization’s “Dark Was the Night” compilation has also been made available to help with Haitian relief. The project originally raised money to promote AIDS/HIV awareness. RHO has issued an emergency grant of $150,000 to Partners in Health, a non-profit organization that has been in Haiti for more than 20 years, to assist with medical expenses on the ground. The compilation features a wide array of artists that include Spoon, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, and My Morning Jacket. Visit their site at www.redhot.org.

Mogwai, a Scottish alternative-rock band, will auction off a piano from their 2006-2007 world tour, with proceeds going to Oxfam International (Oxfam.org) and Doctors Without Borders (doctorswithoutborders.org).

What You Can Do In Addition To Donations + Prayer

This is the time to use your gifts to generate support for a noble cause. This can get you hooked on community, compassion, and care as a forces that drive your desire to sing, play, perform, and write.

Choose a relief organization or several that you will donate proceeds to from your house concert, dinner event, block party, garage gig, church event, or local community center bash. Offer to perform at existing fund raisers in your community.

Get your local media involved with getting the word out. This is a chance to set change in motion with your gift, your passion, and it is something you will look back on with a healthy sense of accomplishment.

Remember that as you give, you will receive. Now is the time to shake up, unwrap, and share your gifts for the greater good of others.