First, the disaster. Then the news. And then, of course, the celebrity benefit concert and charity singles. It’s a familiar sequence of events.

Live Aid is one of the more memorable. Then there was a Tribute to Heroes in the aftermath of September 11, Live 8 for third-world poverty in 2005, Live Earth, Tsunami Aid and most recently, Hope for Haiti. Or to give it its full name, George Clooney presents…Hope for Haiti.

The live telethon on January 22 boasted a star power line-up of Bono, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Rihanna, Jay-Z and others performing alongside actors including Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney, who became unconvincing call centre staff for the evening.

Let’s not beat about the bush- celebrities take part in visible charity work and events, partly because it benefits their images. But this distasteful side of charity work is rarely brought to light as, despite hidden intentions, it still serves the purpose of raising mass awareness of a worthy cause. And no one can deny that.

Unfortunately, the PR potential of celebrity association for a cause such as Haiti, provides as much self promotion for a celebrity as it does cash for the cause, but this probably tells us more about ourselves than the celebrity philanthropists involved.

They say donate money, so we donate money. Politicians dream for this kind of power.

Charity gigs and telethons cost money to organise and in some cases, celebrities still expect to be paid. Hope for Haiti is reported to have raised close to $60m, yet if 100 celebrities each gave £1m, that alone would raise more than the concert, minus the overheads, ever could. Or how about if they each sent their private jets over to Haiti, stocked up with food and supplies?

It's not as though tens of thousands of us need to be enticed by the sugar coating of celebrity pleas – millions of pounds in the UK have already been raised for instance. For many the news of a disaster such as that in Haiti is enough to provoke charitable acts without waiting for it to be overshadowed by glitzy events which offer no long-term solutions.

Maybe the celebs get active because they think we need a bit more encouragement. Not that celebrity activism is all self gain, there are people in the entertainment industry who prove their intentions by keeping a low profile whilst carrying out humanitarian work. Sadly, others can’t seem to follow suit.

Take Simon Cowell for example.

After reportedly being asked by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to put together a charity single, he rounded up his Brand Cowell, TV talent troupes: Cheryl Cole, Alexandra Burke, Leona Lewis, Joe McElderry, JLS and Susan Boyle, to sing a cover of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’.

Speaking about the Haiti disaster and the charity single, Leona Lewis said: “I want to go over there so badly. But I think the best way to help is by doing things like this."

Bless you Leona, have a little sing-song instead eh?

Putting out a single and organising a gig every time there is a disaster has become an increasingly tedious way for multi-millionaire mega-stars to ‘do their bit’.

Granted, it raises money but baring in mind that aid is not getting into Haiti fast enough, perhaps celebrities could instead be using their profiles to find out why.

What do you think? Does the celebrity charity thing annoy you, or are they doing it for the greater good?