Country Music Stars Giving Back

Country artists giving back to the community, in the weeks and months ahead with benefit concerts and acts of charity.
Jimmy Wayne, Sara Evans, Kenny Chesney and Jo Dee Messina are among the people finding ways to help out. The causes? A children’s hospital, a community-building agency and a Christmas adoption special. Here are some of the helpful ways country stars are aiding their neighbors:


• Jimmy Wayne is set to appear Dec. 22 on CBS’ 12th annual “A Home For The Holidays” special, raising awareness about adoption and its benefits. Jimmy, who credits adoption with changing his life during his youth, walked from Nashville to Phoenix earlier this year to increase the nation’s sensitivity to teen homelessness. A few of the other celebrities slated for the special include Ricky Martin, Melissa Etheridge, Maroon 5 and Katy Perry.


• Julianne Hough will take part in a Knoxville benefit Dec. 14 for the McNabb Center’s Christmas for the Children program, according to WBIR-TV. The McNabb Center is an organization that works with mental-health patients and substance abuse issues in 17 East Tennessee counties.


• Sara Evans plays a Christmas for Kids benefit Dec. 16 at Johnny & June’s Ultra Saloon in Winston-Salem, The Greensboro News & Record reported. The concert, which also features country singer-songwriter Bridgette Tatum and NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, aids foster children in two North Carolina counties.


• Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert are among the country artists who’ve teamed up with People magazine and the auction site charitybuzz to raise money for Nashville flood relief. Among the items up for bidding through Dec. 17 are signed guitars and photos and opportunities to meet some of the stars, including Lady Antebellum and Reba McEntire. Go here to find out more.


• Kenny Chesney will take part in Celebration of Caring, a benefit for the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital that takes place for the fourth straight year March 4. Kenny will do an entire concert, according to The Indianapolis Star, with the possibility that the Colts’ quarterback will end up onstage. The two are longtime friends — Kenny sang “Me And You” at Peyton’s wedding in 2001 and at a fifth-anniversary dinner in 2006.