Actors, musicians and other famous faces will work together to raise funds for earthquake-stricken Haiti Friday evening during a telethon to be broadcast to Canadians on CTV, MuchMusic, MTV, CBC and Global.

The live, two-hour, commercial-free telethon will begin at 8 p.m. ET. George Clooney will produce the  Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief telethon, and will serve as one of the show's hosts from Los Angeles. Musician Wyclef Jean will host from New York, while CNN reporter Anderson Cooper will host from Haiti.

The show is jam-packed with musical performances and celebrity appearances, and will also feature live news reports from CNN.

Leading up to the event, CTV, CBC and Global will air a one-hour, commercial free special called "Canada for Haiti." It airs Friday at 7 p.m. ET, and will be hosted by Ben Mulroney, Cheryl Hickey, and George Stroumboulopoulos.

Proceeds from the telethon will be donated to Oxfam America, the Red Cross, UNICEF, Jean's Yele Haiti foundation and Partners in Health, the largest non-governmental medical organization in Haiti.

The earthquake hit close to home for Jean, who was born in Haiti. His foundation has raised funds and delivered aid to the country for years.

Here's a list of artists, and the cities where they will perform:

  • New York City: Wyclef Jean, Bruce Springsteen, Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige, Shakira, and Sting
  • Los Angeles: Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, John Legend,
  • Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Swift, and a group performance by Keith Urban, Kid Rock
  • London: Coldplay, and a group performance by Bono, The Edge, Jay-Z, and Rihanna

The music will later be made available for purchase at the Apple iTunes Store, with proceeds going to select Haiti relief funds.

The 7.0-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12 has devastated the poverty-stricken nation and left thousands homeless, injured, and without food, water or medical supplies. The death toll is expected to rise into the tens of thousands.

While a number of countries, including Canada, have pledged millions of dollars and mobilized military units to deliver relief supplies, aid has been hampered by logistical problems and communication breakdowns.

Joey Adler, founder of non-profit organization OneXOne, flew a plane-load of water and medical supplies that were requested by Partners in Health into Haiti on Saturday.

Adler said fundraising efforts should target organizations that have relationships with groups already on the ground in Haiti, such as Partners in Health, so supplies can be distributed via their established networks.

"As people want to give, understand that there is no infrastructure. If you're going to just go and give stuff to relief organizations that are not working with people on the ground, what good is stuff sitting on the tarmac at the airport," Adler said Sunday on CTV News Channel.

"Everything that we took with us was not only picked up on time, it's out for distribution already to all the different health-care centres that Partners in Health operates."

Adler toured Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince Saturday before returning to Montreal late that night.

She said the scene is far more devastating than pictures and television images suggest. Adler described a putrid smell hanging in the air, and seeing people sleeping on the street in makeshift tents made of sheets and wooden sticks.

"There are thousands of people walking along the streets with nowhere to go," Adler said. "Either side of the street, the buildings had either collapsed or they were in the process of collapsing, or they have to be brought down...I don't believe that no matter how many times you watch something on television, that you can fully absorb what it is that's going on there. I have a hard time even processing it right now."