(New York, NY – January 20, 2010) – BET Networks, Queen Latifah and Sean “Diddy” Combs are set to host a nationally televised concert and celebrity telethon aimed at several organizations providing immediate relief in Haiti, including Yéle Haiti, CARE and Project Medishare. The three hour telecast concert entitled, “SOS Saving OurSelves: Help for Haiti,” will be held at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The program will be aired on BET and Centric, as well as other Viacom properties including MTV and VH1 on Friday February 5, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Proceeds from the broadcast will go directly to each of the charitable organizations.
“Words fail to describe the sadness we feel for our brothers and sisters in Haiti,” said Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO of BET Networks. “We encourage our viewers to tune in and get involved in any way that they can because all of us have
the power to make a difference.”
The fundraiser event will include appearances and performances by a number of musicians concerned by recent events in Haiti, such as Mary J. Blige, Ludacris, Justin Bieber, Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams and many others. The 19,600 seat
arena was deemed the perfect spot for such an event as Miami has one of the largest Haitian populations in the United States.
“Words cannot express how I felt watching the catastrophic events unfold in Haiti. I believe it is our duty to come together and help our brothers and sisters in Haiti, especially now, in their greatest hour of need. I have joined forces with Queen
Latifah, BET and several of the biggest names in music today to raise funds for the Haiti Relief efforts. Together we can make a difference,” states Sean “Diddy” Combs, event host.
“The devastation that has occurred in Haiti has broken my heart. My hope is that we can raise enough money to sustain a few of the relief organizations for quite some time as there is a lot of work to be done over there,” as says Pharrell
Williams. “The goal is not only to bring immediate relief to Haiti but to also rebuild the country and help the country move forward.”
In addition to musical performances, the fundraising event will feature some of the biggest names in music and entertainment to answer the phones during the telethon. BET Networks selected Miami as the host city for this fundraiser given its close proximity to Haiti and is home to the largest population of Haitian Americans.
In addition to supporting this telethon, BET Networks has taken a coordinated multi-platform approach to address this tragedy through a number of initiatives within BET International, BET.com and other on-air programming. The company is also coordinating efforts with its Viacom and MTV Networks, including partnering on the “HOPE FOR HAITI NOW: A GLOBAL BENEFIT FOR EARTHQUAKE RELIEF” telethon set to air on Friday, January 22.
Tickets for the benefit concert will be available at the American Airlines Arena Box Office or via Ticketmaster.com.
I am an independent missionary to Haiti. I was one of the first African American women to ever set foot in some of the remote mountain villages of Haiti. Photo images of some of my work were used on the Clooney Help Haiti Now Telethon. I also am writing my missionary memoirs called HERE’S TO HAITI: KISS, AMERICA, KISS!!! My mission has been for 10 years to restore hope to the women and children of Haiti. How can I participate in the BET Help Haiti Project? I can make my photo images available to Jesse Hutcheson my photo journalist. Please contact me at yolanthapace@gmail.com
Helping our own
Yolantha Harrison-Pace
Independent Missionary to Haiti
Award Winning Author, Playwright & Poet
THERE ARE NO WORDS
As the economy worsens in America, it worsens to an even greater extent in Haiti. Their government is not accountable to a binding constitution that provides social reforms. Haiti is not bound by civil rights amendments, free education and the pursuit of happiness clauses.
Every time I return to America I am at a loss of what to say, what to ask. There are no words in most American’s vocabulary to describe what I see…pieces of a mans leg, hard and shiny as a leather jacket I once owned, surrounding a gaping hole full of greenish purplish rotting skin… a blind woman’s eyes encrusted with what reminded me of potato chip crumbs, matted and feasted on by flies…children so emaciated standing before me in 3D, as if they’ve stepped out from the TV at 4:00 in the morning from one of those FEED THE CHILDREN infomercials. Swollen bellies on multitudes of children as if they were 9 months pregnant. Children who are 9 months long over due with hunger.