Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and producer Wyclef Jean has been honored for his work to strengthen and inspire change in his native country of Haiti through his Yéle Haiti organization. The 37-year-old received the Ripple of Hope Award, along with rocker/activist Bono, at a ceremony thrown by The Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

“As champions of justice, Bono and Wyclef have brought the national spotlight to human rights violations, empowered local activists, and transformed the lives of millions of people living in poverty from Port-Au-Prince to Darfur,” said Kerry Kennedy, founder of the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights. “Their efforts evoke the spirit of my father and we are honored to recognize them.”

Those attending the ceremony included Harry Belafonte, Matthew Modine, Ana Ortiz, Aasif Mandvi, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

More pics below:

Wyclef Jean and the Timberland Clothing Company have announced a partnership to fuse product, music, and activism under a banner of “Earthkeeping”. The company, which has stepped up its environmental commitment over the past few years, created its Earthkeepers program to highlight people making a difference for the planet — and inspire others to do the same.

With Wyclef, Timberland is planning a series of urban greening events across the United States — followed by a trip to Haiti, where along with singer’s nonprofit (www.yele.org), they’ll build a tree nursery that will support reforestation efforts, and serve as a sustainable business model that can be replicated throughout the country.

To find out more about Timberland’s eco-friendly Earthkeepers line, hit the jump here.

The Gala is HealthCorp’s annual fundraiser to raise cash and help expand their in-school health educational and mentoring program. 

HealthCorps was founded Dr. Mehmet Oz to “help stem the crisis of child obesity through school-based health education and mentoring, as well as community events and outreach to underserved populations.”

We like the sound of all of that! 

You can expect tons of celebrity faces, including a very special presentation by Quincy Jones as he gives away the First Annual HealthCorps “Music for a Better Life” Award.

The event will take place at the World Financial Center at West Street, NYC, and tickets cost $1,000. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit HealthCorps.org!

Besides being one heck of a musician, Wyclef Jean is also a passionate ambassador for his birth country Haiti.

In 2005 Jean started Yele Haiti — a program dedicated to supporting projects that make a difference in education, health, environment and community development for the impoverished country.

To continue his good work, Wyclef  has announced plans to build a school in his native country with the help of celeb pals like Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie. He recently told HollyScoop.com:

“I want to start working on building a school. It’s going to be called the Yele Center. Hopefully I can start the fundraiser in six months, and I have the model.I want something that’s sustainable for kids. One person got me out of Haiti, my parents got me to America. I took the dream back to Haiti. If I could just save one kid with that school, and get the next Wyclef Jean or the next Shakira, I’ll be satisfied.”

To learn more about Jean’s work in Haiti, visit Yele.org and find out how you can get involved! Good luck Wyclef — we know you can make it happen!

photo credit: Ron Haviv / Yéle Haiti

I don’t think I remember as many celebratory inaugural balls as what’s happening down in D.C. this month. Of particular interest to us are the “green balls” being organized — yes, there’s more than one.

The first one to hit the dance floor is the Green Inaugural Ball, an “environmental celebration of the election of President-election Barack Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden on January 17, 2009.” Headlining the performances for the evening is the Grammy winning solo artist, activist and founder of the Fugees, Wyclef Jean. “Environment America is thrilled that Wyclef will be bringing his music and his activism to celebrate the inauguration of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden,” said Environment America Political Director Ivan Frishberg, “We decided to join as a host of this event because it represents the kind of environmental commitment and innovation that is going to be essential to protecting the environment and helping the economy recover.”

Of course, a ball about the environment had better be sporting some green cred. According to the release, the event will feature organic food, high-efficiency lighting and entertainment systems, and carbon off-sets.

All this is not to be confused with the 2009 Green Inaugural Ball being thrown by Live Earth on January 19th — once more in celebration of the Obama presidency. This one will be hosted by Al Gore and most likely feature some quality music groups and celebrities. According to the official site, tickets sold out in 15 minutes.

Are you headed to D.C. this week? Let us know! We “might” be able to hook you up with some ball love.

The legitimacy of a charity seems to be on everyone’s mind these days. I’ve been amazed at the responses to the recent post on a Scientology benefit for charity. That conversation may not have been that surprising (I’m not Scientology’s OMG #1 Fan myself!), but when I heard that charities run by Bono — one of my favorite celebs ever– George Clooney, and other famous people might not be as legit as they claim, I was pretty shocked.

Apparently, Bono’s DATA Foundation (now part of One), which works to eliminate poverty and AIDS in Africa, raised $31 million in 2006–but only used $6 million of that for charity. The rest went to transportation, security, and U2 tour tickets. Clooney’s Not on Our Watch (also founded by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle and others), which fights genocide, has some shady dealings with an offshore gambling company. Wyclef Jean, Osi Umenyiora, Tyra Banks, Larry King, Gary Payton, Petra Nemcova, Magic Johnson and Dyan Cannon also seem to have skeletons in their charities’ closets; read more about them here.

So what do you think? Do a few gray areas make a charity all bad? Do any of these charities sound completely illegitimate to you, or do you think they still have redeeming qualities?

Before last night kicked off, however, Damon and Wyclef spent time with David Arquette passing out grapes at the San Francisco Food Bank’s Arriba Juntos pantry in the Mission. The three of them spent about an hour handing out food, signing autographs, and talking with folks in line. “I don’t expect anybody to know who the hell I am,” Damon told the SFGate, adding that in his travels, here and in Africa, many people he meets don’t have enough money for food, let alone a ticket to see his movies.

Next, Damon will head to Florida for the weekend to help the Obama campaign in getting out the vote. After that, he heads to Morocco to finish shooting a movie — but plans to stay involved with the political effort practically every step of the way. “I’m sure I’ll be on the phone over there after filming every night,” he said. “I’ll do telephone interviews or whatever they’ll have me do. I want to sprint to the finish with the millions of us who really have been desperate for this change.”

Regarding his previous negative comments on Sarah Palin, Damon said he would no longer talk about the Republican ticket. “The Obama campaign has decided to focus on the positive, and I should be a bigger man and be able to do that with them,” he said.

Photo credit: Goff/INFphoto.com

Back in September, singer Wyclef Jean and actor Matt Damon traveled to Haiti to assist with relief programs and draw attention the plight of those living there. The country had been rocked by Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike leaving thousands starving, villages flooded, and desperation rampant.

Now, Wyclef has written an entry on Anderson Cooper’s 360 blog detailing that experience and his efforts to assist through his foundation YÉLE HAITI. Here’s a brief highlight from the article,

“I returned to Toronto for an annual Gala for a partner of YÉLE’s, ONE X ONE. At the Gala, I shared the devastation of Haiti with my friend and remarkable human being, Matt Damon. I was concerned that Hurricane Ike which was approaching Texas, along with all the Presidential election coverage including the announcement of the Republican Vice Presidential candidate would take all the media attention away from the four hurricanes that had really devastated not only Haiti, but many other Caribbean islands, such as Cuba. Thousands of people had lost their homes, children, family members, and were left without food and water.

Imagine Katrina’s impact on New Orleans and multiply it by 1000.

What pains me most, and much like most Americans were angered by the response to Katrina, is that these are poor people without means. Matt immediately volunteered to come with me so we could gain global media attention. Five days later, we were in Haiti.

Click here to continue reading about Wyclef’s organization and the work him and Damon put in during their time in Haiti.

As Ecorazzi previously reported, stars like Matt Damon and Wyclef Jean have come out in a big way to help victims of the recent storms in Haiti that killed at least 425 people, destroyed thousands of homes and razed 60 percent of the island’s agriculture.

Mia Farrow, a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, is the latest celeb to get involved and help raise awareness for the impoverished nation. On Sunday, Farrow spent some quality time with storm victims at a cathedral in Haiti and spoke with the press about what she witnessed.

Mia told the AFP, “I saw a city mostly submerged in deep mud (and) people still stranded on roof tops. Other people are still living in school and in a church. There is a sense of confusion, loss and anger. The people in the shelters had not eaten for days, (there is) not enough water coming — of course there is in no sanitation of any kind.”

The United Nations has distributed food and water to some 240,000 people, but raised only 2 percent of its US$108 million aid goal. If you’d like to be as totally rad as Mia, visit Wyclef’s Yele Haiti  and learn how you can get involved!

Actor Matt Damon and Singer Wyclef Jean traveled to Haiti on Monday to assist with relief programs and draw attention the plight of those living there. The country has been rocked by Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike leaving thousands starving, villages flooded, and desperation rampant. Damon and Jean encouraged help for the United Nations to raise more than US$100 million for 800,000 Haitians in need. “It’s inhumane. I wish there was a word in the dictionary. No human should be living like this,” said Jean.

Mr. Jean’s charity, Yéle Haiti, is also working with the World Food Program and Organization of American States-affiliated Pan American Development Foundation to distribute food to 3,000 families.