Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Relief

By Amanda Pendolino on January 14th, 2010

Singer Wyclef Jean has become the face of earthquake relief efforts for Haiti, which is struggling to recover from Tuesday’s earthquake. Wyclef, who was born in Haiti but moved to Brooklyn at age 13, has been helping the impoverished island nation for years through his Yele Haiti foundation. When the earthquake hit, he came forward and announced that people could text Yele to 501501 to donate $5 for relief efforts. You can also click this link to donate online.

“Haiti today faced a natural disaster on unprecented proportion, an earthquake unlike anything the country has ever experienced,” Wyclef said in a statement on the Yele website. “The magnitude 7.0 earthquake – and several very strong aftershocks – struck only 10 miles from Port-au-Prince. I cannot stress enough what a human disaster this is, and idle hands will only make this tragedy worse. The over 2 million people in Port-au-Prince tonight face catastrophe alone. We must act now.”

It’s unclear how much money Wyclef has made just yet, but according to CNN, the Red Cross’ similar campaign of texting Haiti to 90999 to donate $10 has raised around $3 million in donations as of midday today. Tiger Woods may also be donating to Wyclef’s relief efforts; according to the New York Post, the golfer is considering a donation of $3 million. It would certainly be a positive change in press for Tiger, whose infidelity made headlines for weeks.