On May 19th, Jimmy Jean-Louis will receive the Humanitarian Award at the third annual Better World Awards Glitter and Glam Ball in Cannes for his charitable work in his home country of Haiti. Known for his role on NBC's Heroes, and lets not forget the sexy doctor in Phat Girls, Jean Louis has been doing a great deal for Haiti especially since the January earthquake that wreaked havock on the country's fragile economy, and tested the strength of the nation.
Jimmy Jean Louis at the 11th Annual Children Uniting Nations Oscar Celebration, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 7, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo source
He will be honored for his work done through his charity Hollywood Unites for Haiti. The group has chagned its original mandate from provieing arts education and sporting equipment to Haiti's young, to providing earthquake relief supplies (foodm nmedicine etc). He will be handed the award by actor Sean Penn.
Naomi Campbell takes the runway at Fashion For Relief Haiti
Naomi Campbell will also receive an award at the event-the BWA Fashion Philanthropy Award. She spearheaded the Fashion For Relief Haiti which took place in New York City a month after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Many celebs including Chris Brown, Kelly Osbourne and Helena Christiansen
International Luxury Media's 3rd annual Better World Awards' Glitter and Glam Ball is an invitation-only, black-tie gala, cocktail reception and dinner, and will take place at The Lotus VIP Club on Le Goeland Beach May 19. The events special guests include Boris Becker, Prince Filliberto de Savoie, Princess Clotilde Courau, Elie Saab, Denise Rich, Hofit Golan, Troy Bayliss, Baden Cooke and Ana Cunya.
The two-hour "Hope For Haiti" telethon aired Friday night on the major networks and dozens of other channels, including MTV, Bravo, and PBS, and was also streamed live online. I personally watched on MySpace. Stars like Brad Pitt, Beyonce, Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Reese Witherspoon, Steven Spielberg, George Clooney reached out to viewers to encourage donations for Haiti, following a Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 200,000 people.
Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna perform the Swizz Beatz produced "Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)"
It started off with Alicia Keys singing "Prelude to a Kiss." I don't know how she held in the emotion because I could tell that she was ready to cry. She even tweeted about that. Some persons have said the event was melancholic and sad but that is what you need in a telethon. You play the saddest songs, retell the saddest stories and show the saddest images so that even someone in maximum security prison will want to share some of his (or her:-) commissary. I loved Coldplay's performance as well as Justin Timberlake's. And Sting. Wow! Oh he made that guitar wail and on top of that he was backed by The Roots! Oh yes I'm in musical heaven. Beyonce's performace of "Halo" was moving and of course Jennifer Hudson delivered with "Let It Be." Wyclef brought in a bit of Haitian Rara music in his performance of "Rivers of Babylon/Yele." Bono, Jay-Z and Rihanna's performance was good, not a waw but I was kinda bewildered why she could not cover herself up for this event. There is a time and place for everything and that was not a moment to make a fashion statement. Just sayin'.
Apart from the performances you had a lot of celebs on the phones taking calls. Haitian actors Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon and Jimmy Jean-Louis were present. We heard Reese Witherspoon and Taylor Swift take calls. And others spoke directly to viewers including Bill Clinton, Mohammed Ali (through a note read by Chris Rock), and George Clooney who spearheaded the entire event.
We also got glimpses of personal stories of people affected by the earthquake. It was so cute seeing Anderson Cooper trying to speak French. Overall I was touched by the event and I am sure many, many, people around the globe are as well.
The $57 million total released Saturday, 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 for 99 cents each, or the entire album for $7.99. 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" Web site for the next six months. Among the organizations who will receive funds from the telethon include Oxfam America, UNICEF, and the Clinton-Bush Haiti Foundation.
Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon(who is from Haiti) and Ellen Barkin
Jimmy Jean Louis at the 11th Annual Children Uniting Nations Oscar Celebration, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 7, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California.
Naomi Campbell takes the runway at Fashion For Relief Haiti
