Oct. 17, 2008 — For the fourth straight year, Rascal Flatts has earmarked all the proceeds from Friday’s Nashville concert for the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, and it would have been easy for the guys to simply load the equipment into the Sommet Center and do the show.
But the trio — Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus — made a personal visit to the hospital this week with Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Cinderella and Snow White to see the kids they hope to help.
"I think it's the least you can do," Gary told The Tennessean. "It's real easy to write a check, but we want to be a part of it. The reason we make music is to touch people's lives. You can spend a little time and go over there and hear their stories and talk to them and be a part of them. Some people we became friends with when we first started this thing, some of those kids aren't with us anymore."
In the last three years, the band has raised $2.2 million for the Vandy facility with its Music City concerts, including $829,000 from last year’s show. Taylor Swift, who’s been the opening act on their Bob That Head Tour, is also in the lineup Friday.
"It's exceeded all of our expectations," Joe Don said of their contributions. "We knew we could do something really cool and something really special when we started with Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, but we had no idea it would come to this. We do the charity concert, but it's really Nashville's money — the people in the community who buy these tickets and respond like they do. We're just a funnel for that money that takes it straight to Vanderbilt."
The band took part this week in building a playground in Birmingham, an outgrowth of being named the Home Depot Humanitarian of the Year during the Academy of Country Music Awards in May.
Their Greatest Hits Volume 1 will be released Oct. 28.
Source: gactv.com
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