Zac Hanson is giving back this Veterans Day.
The Hanson musician, 38, is offering a “fully produced,” custom song to the winning bidder of his listing in the third annual 12 Drummers Drumming charity auction presented by Raven Drum Foundation, benefiting veterans, first responders and other trauma survivors.
Of partnering with the foundation and the message behind the auction, Zac tells PEOPLE, “I don’t want people to just give money. It’s not just about an exchange. I love the idea that it would connect people as well, what gets sold or auctioned.”
“In the past, I’ve done things like art, and that’s a part of me that I give to somebody. It’s not just a signed object, but it’s a created object,” he continues. “There’s a humanity shared. We’re both people, and I’ve touched this and you can see the fingerprints. The idea of giving a song, I think, is really taking that even one step further.”
“There’s nothing more that I could give than my own creative inspiration to you as a person. That’s a way of connecting,” Zac adds.
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Zac Hanson.
JONATHAN WEINER
Aside from a song from Zac, participants in the auction can bid on items like an autographed guitar from Taylor Swift, a bass signed by Nikki Sixx and a guitar illustrated and signed by Dave Matthews. Newly announced auction offerings include from the Police’s Stewart Copeland, the Bee Gees‘ Barry Gibb, the Rolling Stones‘ Steve Jordan, Rick Springfield, Bon Jovi’s Tico Torres and more.
Sixx, 64, said in a statement, “I’m happy to support Raven Drum’s mission by donating one of my signature bass guitars, along with a few other items, including a scarf worn on stage with Mötley Crüe, some signed books and my custom picks.”
Earlier this year, Zac was one of several musicians who attended a drum-circle gathering at Guns N’ Roses member Matt Sorum‘s GoodNoise Studio in Palm Springs, California, honoring veterans, first responders and trauma survivors.
He tells PEOPLE that he was honored to “actually get to be a part of one of the drum circles with everyone and talking to veterans and just saying, ‘Being here together, your presence here is really healing and helpful to me to be connected to someone.’ “
“In so many ways, this idea of trauma is you are othered through this experience of something that is inhuman, right? Whatever it is,” Zac adds. “I don’t even know how to connect with the world anymore. And then you stand in a room and you all play the same thing. You all move together in an order.”
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“When we’re on tour, I take a frisbee a lot and I jokingly call it the ‘bonding sphere,’ ” he explains of being on the road with older brothers Isaac and Taylor Hanson. “As soon as you start to play with someone, you’re connected to that person. And the same is true with music.”
Co-founded by Def Leppard‘s Rick Allen and his wife, singer-songwriter and healing-arts practitioner Lauren Monroe, Raven Drum Foundation “serves, educates, and empowers trauma survivors and communities in crisis, with a focus on Veterans and First Responders,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
“By integrating advocacy, storytelling, music and arts programs and events, we bring the tools and experiences of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to support and inspire mental health, resiliency, and unity,” the statement adds.
Praising the organization itself, Zac also tells PEOPLE of 12 Drummers Drumming, “an auction for a good cause should have the equal amount of aspiration for the thing you’re gonna give to the people as the cause needs — this connection, and the human connection to people.”
“So what I’m trying to give people is a deep connection,” he adds of his song up for auction. “And this is the best way I know how.”
The 2023 12 Drummers Drumming auction is taking place now through Veterans Day, Nov. 11, at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT. To bid, visit drummers.givesmart.com.