Star-studded event raises $57m

ORGANISERS of the star-studded Hope For Haiti Now telethon were still counting donations yesterday after the event raised more than $57 million (€40m).

“The public has set a new standard of giving for a relief telethon with Hope For Haiti Now, and the donations continue to come in,” Lisa Paulsen, president and chief executive of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, said.

The group is helping to oversee the funds gathered from the event.

The two-hour international telethon was also broadcast from London and streamed live online.

Stars like Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen and more used their presence to encourage donations for Haiti, following the January 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people.

The total released includes money raised by phone, text and the web. It does not include donations by corporations or via iTunes, where people are able to buy performances of the event or the entire album. Those funds also go to Haiti relief.

The Hope For Haiti Now CD is the biggest one-day pre-order in the site’s history and the new song, Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and the Edge, debuted during the telethon, is the No 1 single on iTunes.

People can donate via text, phone or through the Hope For Haiti website for the next six months.

Among the organisations to receive funds from the telethon are Oxfam America, Unicef, and Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.