Conan O’Brian and Earthquakes

I wanted to take a moment and deviate from the normal format of this blog and talk about a few recent events. I’ll start by expressing my thoughts on Conan O’Brian’s resignation from the host of NBC’s The Tonight Show. I might be bias as Conan has always been my favorite late night talk show host, growing up I remember waiting for David Letterman to end over so I could switch over to NBC and watch Conan. For the record: I am not, never was, and never will be a Jay Leno fan.

It saddens me to watch Conan walk away as host, however, I’m very proud that he was able to take a stand for what he believed in and walk away with such thankfulness and pride for all he’s been given over the last 20 years. One thing that really inspired me was night after night, after the jokes about his future, late night, and us current events he would have a serious moment and say something along the lines of “Look what I do is silly, it’s Hollywood, I’m a talk show host,  there are real people dying in Haiti right now who need our help.”

The two organizations Mr. Brian announced on air were Ben Stiller’s StillerStrong.org and George Clooney’s HopeForHaitiNow.org (which is also supported by Tom Hanks and Robin Williams and I’m sure a slew of other stars.)  Sure you can argue that a lot of stars are doing what they can to help in this time of need for Haiti, which is true, yet to me it the way a man who just lost his job (sure there was a 40 million settlement in it for him and his staff) to still be supportive and care about people just spoke to me. His letter to the Press and Farewell speech both spoke to me in a way in which lends him my support for years to come. To put it in a way that you, the internet will understand: I’m on Team COCO.

I also wanted to personally urge you to do something to help out the people of Haiti. I have to admit that I’m often guilty of turning the TV off or avoiding the news for a few days waiting for the whole thing to “blow over” but with tens of thousands dead and missing. According to sources ((http://www.nowpublic.com/world/haiti-earthquake-death-statistics-update-eu-says-200-000-dead-2559557.html)) over 1.5 million are homeless.  Even if all you can do is give a few dollars every bit helps. You may also want to read the The DOs and DON’Ts of Disaster Donations. I  truly believe it is our duty as one of the richest nations to help out.

There are many organizations you can support here are just a few:

World Vision – http://www.worldvision.org

Red Cross (Text HAITI at 90999 to donate $10) – http://www.redcross.org

Hope For Haiti Now – http://hopeforhaitinow.org

Stiller Strong – http://stillerstrong.org

Clinton-Bush Haiti Relief Fund— http://clintonbushhaitifund.org

Supporting an organization you wish to share or have something to say? Leave it in the comments.