Hispanic celebrities bring 'Hope for Haiti'

Latino stars are coming together through various projects and fundraisers to help earthquake victims in Haiti.

The Jan. 22 “Hope for Haiti” telethon organized by actor George Clooney raised more than $57 million with the help of dozens of performers, including Christina Aquilera and Shakira. The “Unidos Por Haiti,” a special edition of “Sábado Gigante” that aired Jan. 23, was expanded from its originally planned four-hour telecast to five hours so producers could accommodate all the stars who wanted to participate, including Thalía, Gloria Estefan and Daddy Yankee.

Other Hispanic celebrities have done their part to help the Haitians still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck the island country Jan. 12. Here's a look at some of the contributions made and how you can help, too:
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Shakira has announced that she will help build a new school through her children's educational non-profit foundation Pies Descalzos. Shakira founded Pies Descalzos in 2003 to help disadvantaged children and their families in her native Colombia through education and income-generating projects. For more on Pies Descalzos, visit fundacionpiesdescalzos.com.
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Musical group Aventura made a personal donation of $25,000 to the American Red Cross for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, latina.com reports. To find out how you can help the American Red Cross help those in Haiti, go to redcross.org, or call (800) 842-2200.
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Several Mexican musicians are lending their voices to a special album to raise money for earthquake relief. Among the musicians participating on the double-disc “Voces Por Haití” are Alejandro Fernández, Vicente Fernández, Julieta Venegas and Alejandra Guzmán. The album should be in stores by early next month, Univision reports.
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Singer Ricky Martin has traveled with Habitat for Humanity to Haiti to help with clean-up and rebuilding efforts there. For more on Habitat for Humanity, visit habitat.org.
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Comedian and talk show host George Lopez is organizing a Feb. 4 benefit concert in Los Angeles to raise money for Haitian relief efforts.

Lopez has asked some past guests of his “Lopez Tonight” show, including Andy Garcia, Slash, Samuel Jackson and Kobe Bryant, to participate in the concert. Even if you can't travel to Southern California to attend “Help Haiti with George Lopez and Friends,” you can still help the comedian with his cause. Visit lopeztonight.com to make a donation.

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