Country megastar Tim McGraw [ tickets ], who on Friday night (3/7) launches a massive spring tour, plans to donate a portion of funds from the outing to local Red Cross chapters throughout the U.S.

"We are living in a time where people need to stick together and help one another," McGraw said in a statement. "We need to be prepared for any crisis that might present itself and we need to do our part in banding together," he added. "It gives me a tremendous amount of comfort to know that the monies that we raise will go towards a great organization like the American Red Cross, that provides so much, for so many, around this country and around the globe."

McGraw plans to donate fifty cents from each concert ticket sold through his official website, as well as all of the proceeds raised from the sale of a specially designed Tim McGraw/American Red Cross t-shirt that will be sold at all of the upcoming shows, according to a press release. Proceeds will be given to the closest Red Cross chapter in each of the more-than 50 cities where the tour stops.

In addition, McGraw plans to play several surprise shows throughout the tour, and will donate half of the proceeds from tickets for these performances to the local Red Cross chapter where the shows take place.

After spending most of 2002 away from the road, McGraw is hitting the road to back last November's "Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors." The singer and his band are planning to give fans a show that will feature more than two-and-a-half hours of music, according to his publicist.

"This is the most ambitious tour we've ever set out to do," McGraw said in a statement. "I want this tour to look and feel different than anything we've done in the past."

The singer went on to say that the group plans to play "album cuts and all kinds of songs that we jam on in rehearsal, but never get to play in concert."

Released last November, "Tim McGraw & the Dancehall Doctors" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart after selling about 601,000 copies during its first week in stores. The album features guest appearances from the Eagles' Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit and Kim Carnes.