Think training for a marathon is hard? Try doing it while on a nationwide tour. That’s just what rock band RED’s frontman Michael Barnes is doing.

RED is getting ready to headline its own tour. And when Barnes isn’t on stage, he’s lacing up his sneakers for a good cause. The singer is participating in the CURE Champion Program by running the Country Music Marathon in Nashville in April. The CURE program allows participants to meet personal fitness goals while raising money for surgeries for children in emerging countries.

CURE is a non-profit organization that operates hospitals and programs in 27 countries to provide medical care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

Barnes, who has a degree in nursing, visited a CURE hospital in Ethopia to meet the children in need of the medical care. He offers club foot or cleft palate as examples of problems that need to be corrected.

“To see these kids’ lives change in front of your lives, it was just an amazing experience,” he says. “It’s like one guy that’s from the states and he’s sacrificing his time and his efforts. People donate money and it goes so that guy (or another doctor in one of CURE’s 13 hospitals) can do the surgery. It’s a way to really make a difference in someone’s life.”

To support Barnes – or run with him — visit http://cure.org/red.

To read The Tennessean’s article on this, CLICK HERE.