Today's Feel Good News Story: Haitian Man Rescued After 11 Days Under Rubble

With the inevitable decision to stop rescue efforts in Haiti looming,  one man defies probability and crawls to his safety after spending 11 days trapped in rubble from a collapsed building.   Wismond Jean-Pierre's rescue is nothing short of miraculous.  The Haitian native was retrieved safely after a three hour excavation initiative lead by French rescue team member Lt. Col. Christophe Renou.  Renou was guided to the location by Pierre's brother who was desperately searching for anyone who could help his sibling find freedom.  From cnn.com:

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Hope For Haiti: Hope For Haiti Now Telethon Photos

I LOVE to see stars using their celebrity for the greater good of mankind.   Here are some photos from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon.  Remember, it's not too late to donate!!

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Hope For Haiti: Record Setting Hope For Haiti Now Telethon

Celebrities with famous faces and big hearts gathered together Friday night to put on a star-studded telethon benefiting the disaster stricken country of Haiti. The Hope For Haiti Now telethon was a huge success, setting records and raising millions of dollars to help fund the efforts of non-profit aid organizations actively operating in Haiti - Oxfam America, Unicef, the Red Cross, Partners in Health, and Yele Haiti - as well as the Clinton-Bush Haiti fund.  

George Clooney and Wyclef Jean hosted the hodgepodge of benevolence, talent and technology.   Countless celebrities from around the world gathered in four cities - New York, Los Angeles, London, and Port Au Prince -  to take donations.  The show was broadcast on scores of television channels, radio channels and even on Youtube and donations were accepted by text, phone, and online.

From guardian.co.uk:

Once again the international stellar community, broadcasting live from New York, London, Los Angeles and Haiti on MTV, YouTube and most major American networks, proved they could work together at short notice to raise funds for an emergency relief operation.

Viewers across the world – this event was aiming for the largest television audience ever – were treated to solo performances from Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder and Sting, and Chris Martin of Coldplay accompanying Beyoncé on the piano. The R&B superstar's rendition of her song Halo included the altered lyric: "Haiti, we can see your halo/I pray you won't fade away."

The millions who tuned in also had the chance to watch celebrities appearing "as themselves", sitting at banks of desks to take telephone calls from people pledging donations. Steven Spielberg answered the phone to a surprised female pastor who said: "Wow. It's cool to speak to you." "It is cool to speak to you too," the director replied. (Read the full article)

If you missed the telethon, it's not too late to donate.  The people of Haiti need our continued support during these trying times.   Below you will find a couple of performance from Friday's telethon and you can visit the Social Angst Hope For Haiti Rebroadcast Page to see even more of your favorite artists get their fund-raising on...

Jay-Z/Bono/Rhianna -

Jay-Z, Rihanna, Bono and The Edge Live On Hope For Haiti Now - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

Mary J. Blige - Hard Times

Mary J. Blige Performs “Hard Times” (Hope for Haiti Now) - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris - Hallelujah

Justin Timberlake & Matt Morris - Hallelujah ( Hope For Haiti Now - Telethon ) ... - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

Beyonce - Halo

     

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Around The Web: Huffington Post "Convinces" Credit Card Companies to Wave Fee for Donations

I love this story!!

A post over at the Huffington Post, which highlights how credit card companies and banks stand to profit from transaction fees made on charitable donations to Haiti, may have lead to the waiving of the fee.  In a post titled, As Wallets Open For Haiti, Credit Card Companies Take Big Cut, Laura Basset outlines how a 3% transaction fee would be placed on all donations made via credit/debit card.  27 pages worth of comments later lead to two story updates.  The first at 3:15 PM stating that American Express had agreed to waive the transaction fee on donations made to 65 charitable donations between January 12th and the end of February.  The second update came at 6:44 PM stating that Visa would also waive the fee through February.  Way to go Huffington Post!!  And way to go AE and Visa...(it's just like when the Grinch grew a heart...!)

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Hope For Haiti: Obama Pledges $100 Million in Aid

President Obama has pledged $100 million in initial aid to the devastated country of Haiti.  The Grio (via the Associated Press) is reporting that the U.S. government has begun its "largest relief effort in recent years" with the donation of urgently needed supplies such as water and medicine.  The President also acknowledged that the aid efforts will potentially be delayed due to the infrastructure damage Haiti suffered.  He ended his announcement with a statement of worldwide solidarity, telling the Haitian community that America, and the world, "stands with you".

From The Grio:

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Hope For Haiti: $ 3 Million Pledged as Technology Makes Donations Simple

SHOW YOUR SUPPORT!

Wireless customers have pledged $3 Million dollars in charitable donations using their cell phones!  In an inspiring story where technology meets benevolence, two organizations - the mGive Foundation and the Mobile Giving Foundation - have teamed up to raise money for aid organizations like the Red Cross and Wyclef Jean's Yele Haiti foundation.  With some high profile promotion from the White House  and Twitter, wireless donations have become an increasingly popular way to support recovery efforts in Haiti.

The donation system works as follows:

In the Red Cross' case, phone users can text the word "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10," and when prompted, hit "YES" to confirm the donation.

The donation is added to the cell user's bill, and receipts are available.

To make a $5 donation to the Yele Haiti foundation, and send a phone text-message to 501501 to contribute.

T-Mobile is also supporting free text messages for donations to the Yele foundation, calling Jean one of the company's "myTouch (Android phone) partners ... again 100 percent of the donations are passed directly to the nonprofit," said Ginther. (get the full story at msnb.com)

 

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Showing your support in this small way can make a HUGE difference! Activism doesn't get much simpler than this.

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