MOOSEHEART, IL – Even though he has yet to set a foot on the Mooseheart campus, Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman has already done plenty to endear himself to the residents of the Child City.

With still 24 hours to go before the first of two concerts at the Mooseheart Fieldhouse, Chapman is in the midst of a fundraising campaign with proceeds to go to Mooseheart. That campaign is producing impressive results. And the star of the A& E hit show will continue those efforts in the concerts, which take place Friday and Saturday.

A Monday appeal to visitors to Chapman’s Web site to donate $5 has raised $21,000, according to calculations posted on the site. Part of the appeal included a personal phone call from Chapman to anyone bidding $500 or more.

Wednesday, Chapman offered fans a chance to win a date on the set during filming of his show, Dog the Bounty Hunter. From an opening price of $2,500, the Ebay auction stood at $7,100 on Thursday afternoon.

“What’s really neat is that here you have a major TV star who has not stepped foot on the Mooseheart campus and has not met a Mooseheart child and he’s done all of this,” Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart said. “He’s gone off of what he’s seen on the Web site and what he’s been told about the work we do with kids.”

Chapman is to speak during each of the concerts, which are being produced by the Rush Tour. Information on the concerts can be found online or by calling 630/355-6060. The concerts feature not only Chapman but several of the hottest up and coming Christian bands.

“He has thrown regard to the wind and jumped full force to generate as much financial support for Mooseheart as he can,” Hart said. “He has put a lot of his personal time into this, not only coming to Mooseheart and speaking to the kids, but also by committing to the phone calls and to spending a day with one of his fans on the film site.”

It bears repeating that Chapman has not yet been to Mooseheart and has not spoken to any of the 240 children who are there, supported by the Moose fraternity.

“Without a doubt, when he steps onto the campus and meets our kids, they will win him over and he will realize the good that he has already done,” Hart said.

Chapman will speak each night about” “his life, his trials, his faith and the ability for everyone to overcome obstacles.” A crowd of roughly 1,000 is expected each night. Tickets are still available and will also be sold at the door each night.

Chapman will also appeal for donations to Mooseheart during the concerts.

“This is something we absolutely did not expect whatsoever,” Hart said. “Our initial hope was to have Duane Chapman out here to encourage our kids and to have a concert and for our kids to hear his message. Now that all of this is occurring in the past few weeks and days, it blows you away that he believes so much in our organization. We didn’t call him to ask him to do this. He’s doing this out of the goodness of his heart.”

A&E will be taping the weekend concerts and the footage will be shown on a future episode of “Dog the Bounty Hunter.” Hart said some Mooseheart students are excited because Dog the Bounty Hunter is coming to campus and others are interested in the bands that will play at the Fieldhouse.

Hart said he is anticipating the moment on Friday when he gets to greet Chapman and welcome him to Mooseheart.

“Usually you have to meet someone before you can tell what kind of person he is,” Hart said. “From what I’ve seen and read, he’s definitely a friend of Mooseheart.”

Among the bands scheduled to appear are Echoing Angels, Emery, Inhabited, Flatfoot 56 and Will Duvall. Echoing Angels, Inhabited and Will Duvall will perform on Friday's Family Night, set to start at 7 p.m.; all bands except Echoing Angels will perform on Rock Night, Saturday, scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

Will Duvall is an emerging presence, whose song "Teach Us To Love" will be released this summer. Inhabited brings the arching vocals of Sara Acker to hit songs like "One More Night" and current hit "Hush."

Echoing Angels began to get airplay with 2006 single "You Alone" and released an album by the same name that year. "Coming Back to Life", off the same album, has received significant airplay on top Christian music stations.

Brothers Tobin Bawinkel, Justin Bawinkel and Kyle Bawinkel join Josh Robinson in Flatfoot 56, a band that plays Christian Punk. Their sound includes bagpipes for a very original Celtic sound.

One of the hottest bands on tour, Emery's song "World Away" became a massive hit. Their third album "I'm Only a Man" was released in October and is climbing the charts. Originally Seattle-based, the band now lives in various parts of the country, including Illinois, which is home to vocal-bassist Devin Shelton.

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia, IL, between Illinois Route 31 and Randall Road.

Founded in 1913, Mooseheart is supported completely through private donations - the great majority of which come from the 1.3 million men and women of the Moose fraternal organization, in more than 1,800 Lodges and 1,600 Chapters located throughout the U.S., Canada, Great Britain and Bermuda. Moose International headquarters is located on the Mooseheart campus.

Since its founding, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten-through-high-school academic program, plus art, music, religious and vocational training, and interscholastic sports. It is an extremely nurturing and student-tailored program, with an average student-teacher ratio of 12-1.

Mooseheart students who complete their studies with a 3.0 GPA or better (4.0=A) are eligible for up to five years of annually renewable scholarship funding, covering tuition, room and board in an amount comparable to that required for an in-state student at an Illinois public university.

Mooseheart is currently home to nearly 250 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment. Mooseheart boasts its own U.S. Post Office and a fully functioning branch of Fifth Third Bank.

In addition to Mooseheart, Moose International also supports Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community near Jacksonville, FL founded in 1922; and conducts more than $90 million worth of community service programs annually.

Founded in 1888, the Moose organization has long offered its members an opportunity to do good for others while celebrating life, with family, social, and sporting activities. For more information on the Moose organization, visit the websites at www.Mooseintl.org and www.Mooseheart.org or call 630-966-2229.