Before
the Golden Globes this weekend, there
was another fete with A-listers in
attendance: A fundraiser gala for Sean
Penn's J/P
Haitian Relief Organization.
Penn,
who has been assisting with earthquake
relief for Haiti since the disaster
struck in January of 2010, was honored
on Saturday night at the event and
officially named the ambassador at
large to Haiti by the country's
Minister of Foreign and Religious
Affairs, Laurent Lamothe.
The
dinner, which was organized by Cinema
for Peace, raised $5 million to put
toward the efforts of rebuilding,
according to a statement, and Penn
told CNN at the event that Haiti is at
a crucial turning point.
"The
work that has been done, while slow
and frustrating in many cases, it is a
miraculous amount of work that has
been done in the last two years,"
the actor said. "If we’re able
to follow through on that – build
the trust between the countries and
build the trust between the
organizations that are doing
productive work as opposed to those
that don’t - I think that this could
be a dynamic jump forward."
The
51-year-old star was joined by
Hollywood names like George Clooney,
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kim Kardashian and
Mel
Gibson, as well as those in the
political arena, like California
Attorney General Kamala Harris.
Kardashian,
who recently traveled to Haiti, told
CNN that her trip was illuminating.
“I
didn’t have any expectations going
down there and I really wanted to
learn for myself," she said.
"When I got down there, I felt
like there is so much that needs to be
done, I didn’t know where to start.
So, by working with different
organizations you really learn what
you can do to help, and I just think
that everyone can help in any way,
whether it's online [or otherwise]. My
experience was definitely eye-opening,
and I can’t wait to go back.”
