HANSON - HANSON LAUNCH FOOTWEAR INITIATIVE

HANSON LAUNCH FOOTWEAR INITIATIVE

Pop trio HANSON will be selling shoes on their upcoming U.S. tour in a bid to provide African youths with footwear. The sibling group has teamed up with the bosses of TOMS shoes to kickstart a footwear drive for the Third World. For every pair of TOMS sold to fans on The Walk tour, the footwear firm's bosses will donate a pair to an African child in need. Hanson will also join fans for a one-mile walk in each town and city they play on the tour. The fans will be encouraged to don a pair of TOMS for the stroll. The exact location of each day's walk will be announced on hanson.net three hours in advance of each show. Fans who participate in the one-mile walk will get to "jump the line" for the concert that night. Taylor Hanson says, "We want to inspire others to look for simple, tangible and fun ways to make a difference. "It is easy to be halted by the great hurdles of poverty and AIDS, but making an impact can begin as simply as giving someone a pair of shoes." The first walk event will be held in Chicago, Illinois at the end of September (07), before the trio's two House of Blues concerts.