SwampLog: Blogathon 2005: Hands Across America: Jump In Line

All in all, it was a heady time to be Devin.

I was emboldened by Live Aid and the New Activism of the '80s to try and get involved any way I could to help others. When Hands Across America was announced in the last months of 1985, I knew I had to get involved in some fashion.

So, I called the 800 number from the TV ad and asked them to send me an enrollment kit. What came to my house was a long-form commercial on VHS along with the music video for Hands Across America. I decided that I was going to roll my own little drive to populate the line, and get pledges for everyone that was interested in participating.

The way HAA worked was, you basically bought a place in line -- if memory serves, it was $35, and that got you a place in line, a certificate, and a t-shirt. There were higher pledge levels, naturally, but I focused on getting as many people in line as I could.

I hit the high school population and my church, the two areas I knew I could get the most enrollment and money from. By the time I was done, I had enough pledged money for 12 people to hop in line.

When I took the enrollment and pledge intakes to the Dallas headquarters, they asked if I would be interested in helping further. There was no way I would say no.