, Jackson tried again in Winnipeg."A friend gave me the keys to his restaurant. There were five of us with a ton of food on Christmas Eve and no people," he remembers.

They did have three cars, so they went out cruising, rounded up street people, brought them back to the restaurant and fed them.

"My goal was not just to raise money but to create an awareness of homelessness," says Jackson.

And he has certainly done that. Where the Huron Carol was once a single-city concert event, it blossomed into nine last year. This year with the addition of Victoria, Regina and Montreal, the concerts will be held in 12 cities.

Jackson is known for his love of jokes, ("I am goofy"), but he gets very serious when discussing homelessness.

"Part of the pursuit of my career has been driven by the charity. I stay in the entertainment industry for two reasons - my own survival and to create a profile that will give the charity a credibility," he says.

Next month, Jackson will release a new CD, That Side of the Window, with homelessness as its theme. He's going to turn his portion of the proceeds over to charity and if his plans to do a video of one song called The Dance With the Devil work out, he'll turn that money over to the food bank.

He goes back to his original point ... that he's not some movie star looking for glory through his charity work.

"You can think of me as you will. You don't have to believe me, just watch me," he says.

Any number of people have been doing just that. On television and at the Huron Carols. That's why he'll be receiving the C.F. Martin Humanitarian Award during Country Music Week. Presented annually by the C.F. Martin Guitar Company, it is given to the person who makes an outstanding contribution in the support of humanitarian causes through country music.

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