Lauren Alaina Tour Makes a Difference, Inch by Inch

Posted Sep 21st 2012 12:00PM by Beville Dunkerley
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Eighteen seems to be Lauren Alaina's lucky number. She has a big hit on her hands with "Eighteen Inches," which was co-written by her musical hero, Carrie Underwood, along with Kelley Lovelace and Ashley Gorley. The Georgia native kicks off her very first headlining trek, the 18-city Eighteen Inches Tour, today (Sept. 21). And she turns 18 this Nov. 8!

The big-hearted star is doing something very special with her tour. She has chosen a local charity in each stop to benefit from sales of her limited edition 18-City Inch-By-Inch Tour T-shirt. See a full list of cities, dates and charities below. If you can't make it out to a show, you can still make a difference by purchasing a shirt from Lauren's website.

T-shirts sold at several of the shows will benefit local chapters of the Special Olympics, a cause of which Lauren has been a champion since long before her "American Idol" days.

"I like to help people and I love kids," the singer tells The Boot. "So I always said that if I never made it in the music business, I wanted to be a pediatrician or a special-needs teacher. I love those kids in my school, they're my babies! I've gone to the Special Olympics in our region every year since sixth grade."

Lauren was named a Special Olympics UNIFY Ambassador earlier this year. She even gives a shout-out to Special Olympics athletes in the liner notes of her debut album, Wildflower.

Watch Lauren Perform '18 Inches' in Our Studio

Lauren Alaina, Eighteen Inches tour dates & charities:

Sept. 21 - Bloomsburg, PA - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Sept. 22 - Long Island, NY - Long Island Military Veterans

Sept. 29 - Salem, VA - Salem Rotary Club

Oct. 4 - Atlanta, GA - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Oct. 5 - Dalton, GA - City of Refuge and Family Promise of Dalton

Oct. 9 - Akron, OH - "Chicks with Picks" Akron General Medical Ctr. Muffins for Mammograms Breast Cancer benefit

Oct. 11 - Baton Rouge, LA - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Oct. 13 - Maryville, TN - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Oct. 15 - Visalia, CA - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Oct. 20 - Ashburn, VA - The Nature Nuts Program

Oct. 21 - Miami, FL - Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital

Oct. 23 - Orlando, FL - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Oct. 25 - Mobile, AL - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Oct. 27 - Raleigh, NC - SPCA of Wake County and Johnston County Animal Rescue League

Nov. 2 - Ladson, SC - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Nov. 8 - Lauren's Birthday!

Nov. 9 - Jacksonville, FL - Special Olympics (local chapter)

Nov. 11 - Baltimore, MD - Susan G. Komen for the Cure Maryland

Nov. 12 - Pittsburgh, PA - Special Olympics (local chapter)

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