What You Need To Know When Giving To American Idol

Tonight, a call into Fox's top-rated series American Idol (NWS) will do more than aid one amateur's dreams of stardom. Your call tonight could save a life.

That is because April 9 marks the second annual Idol Gives Back event, which last year raised $76 million for the needy here in the U.S. and in Africa. Now Idol contestants and Hollywood’s elite will again come together to raise awareness and money for six different not-for-profit organizations that aid children in need. The organizations are Save the Children, Malaria No More, Make It Right, The Global Fund, Children’s House Fund and Children’s Defense Fund.

A slew of celebrities will also make an appearance on tonight’s broadcast. They include Brad Pitt, founder of Make It Right, Reese Witherspoon, a Children’s Defense Fund board member, Miley Cyrus, Mariah Carey, Fergie, as well as past Idols, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, and Fantasia. Judges Randy Jackson, a Save the Children ambassador, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell will also appear.

During the show viewers can make a general donation to Idol Gives Back via the phone or internet. The Idol organization will then distribute the money to the beneficiary organizations, the majority of which benefit needy children.

The newest organization to benefit from American Idol’s charity is Pitt’s Make It Right which is focused on rebuilding the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans after it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. According to Rachel Traux, Make It Right's spokesperson, the organization will use 100% of the money that they receive from tonight’s event in their efforts to provide sound and environmentally safe housing.

“American Idol has not only encouraged people to donate money but it has raised the awareness of poverty in America and Africa," says Mark Shriver, vice president of Save the Children’s U.S. division. "That is an invaluable thing.”