In response to the hurricane tragedy, NBC Universal Television Group announced today it will air a live benefit special. Viewers can watch "A Concert For Hurricane Relief" on NBC, MSNBC and CNBC on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
NBC’s Matt Lauer will host the hour-long, music and celebrity-driven telethon. It will be broadcast entirely from the New York studios of NBC located in 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The special will feature performances by artists with ties to the affected areas, including Tim McGraw, Harry Connick, Jr. and Wynton Marsalis as well as an appearance by Leonardo DiCaprio, among others.
All viewers will be encouraged to donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund in support of hurricane relief through its website and donation hotline (www.redcross.org or 1-800-HELP NOW).
The humanitarian needs from this catastrophic hurricane are immense and will continue to emerge over the next weeks, months and even years. The American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling, and other assistance to those in need for this disaster and other disasters across the country each year.
As the full extent of Hurricane Katrina's devastation is revealed, the task ahead challenges the capacity of any one organization to respond. To meet the needs of the thousands of Americans facing loss, the American Red Cross will work shoulder-to-shoulder with its partners in the federal government and the non-profit community to provide essential support.
Further details will be announced shortly.
