The telethon was originally planned to help victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, but organizers announced last week that funds will also go to help victims of Hurricane Irma.
The “Hand in Hand” telethon will be shown on CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox, along with the CMT cable network. It will start at 5 p.m. California time, but will be tape-delayed for broadcast at 8 p.m. on the West Coast.
The telethon will be broadcast from Los Angeles, New York and Nashville, with a finale performance from Texas featuring George Strait.
The names announced included Anthony Anderson, Bun B, J Balvin, Justin Bieber, Connie Britton, Andy Cohen, Stephen Colbert, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Terry Crews, Billy Crystal, Jourdan Dunn, Jimmy Fallon, Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, Marcia Gay Harden, Faith Hill, Kate Hudson, Dwayne Johnson, Joe Jonas, Catherine Zeta -Jones, Nicole Kidman, Karlie Kloss, Matt Lauer, Jay Leno, Zion & Lennox, Jared Leto, Eva Longoria, Tim McGraw, Tracy Morgan, Norah O’Donnell, Gerardo Ortiz, Chris Paul, Tyler Perry, Dennis Quaid, Questlove, Jeremy Renner, Julia Roberts, Kelly Rowland, David Spade, Gwen Stefani, Michael Strahan, Sofia Vergara, Kerry Washington, Chandra Wilson and Rita Wilson.
Other celebrities scheduled to take part in the event are George Clooney, Jamie Foxx, Beyonce, Rob Lowe, Matthew McConaughey, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Drake, Hilary Duff, Dennis Quaid, Adam Sandler, Ryan Seacrest, Barbra Streisand, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon and Blake Shelton.
According to organizers, the telethon will benefit United Way, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Feeding Texas, Direct Relief, and the Mayor’s Fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief. Comic Relief USA, the nonprofit organization behind Red Nose Day and Idol Gives Back, will be responsible for collecting donations in addition to managing and distributing grants through the Hand in Hand Hurricane Relief Fund.
Organizers also said that Apple is donating $5 million to support hurricane relief efforts benefiting people affected by both storms. And starting last weekend, anyone with an iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC running iTunes could make their own donations directly through the App Store and iTunes.
Information on the event is available online at www.HandInHand2017.com.
—City News Service
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