Hanson has joined with other artists to create a 30 second Rock The Vote ad to be seen nationwide beginning Monday. You can view the ad at Hanson.net .
Hanson
Total fans: 57,932
Blog posts
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Apr 09, 11:42 PMLots of ArticlesHanson Walks Through La Crosse
WXOW abc 19 reporting
Link to Article and videoHanson is back: The former ‘MMMBop’ boys are all grown up
By Kendra Meinert
Gannett Wisconsin Media
Link to ArticleEver-transitioning Hanson makes stop at The Rave
By Pam Rose
Special to OnMilwaukee.com
Link to ArticleHanson is still at it and now they are all grown up
by Molly Shaker
Link to ArticleTake a walk with Hanson
By GERI PARLIN | La Crosse Tribune
Link to ArticleInterview with Zac Hanson
By Brett Emerson
brett.emerson@secondsupper.com
Link to ArticleHanson: Fathers, Bandmates and ... Brothers in arms
By TOM ALESIA
talesia@madison.com
Link to Article -
Nov 30, 04:52 PMAfrica Trip - I Have Hope : Great Divide In SowetoFollowing the shoe drops we were anxious to visit two other groups in Soweto. Among those was the DD Dliwayo school in Soweto, the school where the choir that recorded with us a year ago was from. Their school program is stunning, teaching kids to read and write with an effective method in 6 weeks. Still the school is underfunded, with kids breaking pencils in half to share and teachers sharing chalk. During our visit to the school we sang for the entire group and enjoyed learning about their methods. It is a moving program, and when we left we knew we needed to do more to help. Our friend and photographer who joined us had an amazing idea to tell people about the school on his blog and offer a 30 dollar tshirt as a benny for people to donate money to the school, with the goal that we could give the school something before leaving the country. After a rapid in flux of interest from our combined efforts (our fans efforts) $15,000 was donated to the school!!! That's tuition for the majority of the school for a year. It blows my mind still.
One of the moving events during our trip was seeing the effects of the song Great Divide, through the amazing doctors we helped fund at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit in Soweto. Through the funds raised from the song Great Divide and the GD tshirt, HIVSA (the hospital's non-profit) funded a grass roots program to empower children & youth in poor areas to learn about the issues of HIV and establish safe havens for counselling and education within their communites -- places like Kliptown within Soweto, where they have no plumbing or electricity infrastructure and HIV/AIDS and poverty is rampant.
We accompanied reps from HIVSA on a visit to one of several programs going on that day in Kliptown. The area is deeply depressed, with a hopelessness surrounding the entire area, trash and waste scattered across the streets. Still bright-faced people and children walk the streets. We pulled up to one of the better residences where the back patio and outer buildings were being used for the program, which was currently in progress. Kids aged from 5 to 12 or 13 were gathered. Knowing they are in a safe place, being educated on how to be empowered to stop the cylce of death in their communites and being invited just to play and be with other kids for a short while. We joined in and heard feedback from kids on their understanding of these issues and the gratitude they have for this program-- they sang for us and we returned the favor. We could see the tangible impact of a 99 cent song. More than 2 thousand kids educated and empowered in several impoverished communities, brighter futures as a result lay ahead. We were a little extra choked up when we were about to leave and saw our names on the pamphlets that were handed out -- supported by HANSON. We hugged many of the kids in thanks before leaving. So many different experiences on this trip stopped us in our tracks, but all of it only further fuels that imperative that we have to continue.
---Taylor H -
Nov 30, 04:50 PMAfrica Trip - Shoe Drop Trip : Shoes For AllAfter completing the final days of the TOMS shoe drop we were all on a high - physically exhausted but also inspired. From the northern hills of Ingwavuma to the orphanages in Soweto and Durban, the shoes we delivered were vital.
It was stirring to meet with and see the kids faces every time we arrived to deliver TOMS. So many of them are faced with issues every day that would stop even an adult in their tracks. Miles walked everyday across rocks and dirt roads to get to school - if they are lucky enough to go to school. Disease and poverty are commonplace, they expect for those issues to be around them, they do not expect for strangers to come and give them brand new shoes - something just for them. A small piece of comfort that might encourage them and motivate them.
The last shoe drop we did was a gathering of kids from several orphanages in Johannesburg. We invited them all to one place so that we could get shoes in the hands of the women who run each orphanage. So many of the kids we met were accustomed to having nothing, much like those we met on previous drops, but is resonated further to think how many kids just like these don't even have support from a family. Aids has created over 14 million orphans in Africa, and growing. These shoes are a lot more than something to cover their feet, they are a sign of giving and support that encourages these kids and gives them the tools to push on. I gathered with the kids playing with them before we left, the little ones were around my kids ages -- 5 year olds, 3 and 4 year olds ... now wearing a pair of shoes given to them by people in the States, half way around the world. At least it is a start ... these shoes are just the beginning.
---Taylor H -
Nov 30, 04:48 PMAfrica Trip - The Shoe Drop Day OneWow, what a powerful day. driving up into rural south africa you are wowed by the natural beauty and also the prevalence of poverty. Dirt roads, women carrying jugs of water on their heads for miles, from the well back to their homes.
The courtyard of the Esibonisweni School was full of anxious faces. Kids turning excited eyes on us as we and the rest of the TOMS shoes crew unloaded. We were quickly stormed by the crowd of kids, who were a mix of nervous and excitable, we exchanged hugs and hellos.
The first day was amazing-- fitted hundreds of kids in the African heat, down on our hands and knees we covered many calloused soles with brand new TOMS. It was magical to see kids animated faces as we slipped shoes on them. Many of them spend miles each day walking from their home to their school shoeless, it was amazing to be a part of changing that fact, one shoe at a time.
It was an amazing day in Africa.
---Taylor