The closest the May 1986 official Hand Across America route, involving six million people joining hands from Los Angeles to New York City to raise funds to combat hunger came to Knoxville, was Memphis. UT decided to hold a Hands Across UT fundraising event to benefit Emergency Food Helpers, which acted as an umbrella organization to distribute food and supplies to local residents in need. When Knoxville decided to have a similar program (Hands Across Knoxville), the UT and Knoxville chains were joined.
The UT chain began at the Volunteer Statue, traveled down Volunteer Boulevard to Cumberland Avenue, and east on Cumberland to Gay Street, where it joined the Knoxville chain. At 3:00 p.m. on May 6, approximately 850 people (and one blue-tick hound named Oopsi, wearing a Hands Across UT T-shirt provided by his owner Greg Williams) formed the UT chain while the song “We Are the World” was broadcast simultaneously on radio stations throughout the country. The cost for participation was $2 or $5, and a souvenir T-shirt was given to each registrant. A total of $2,500 was raised.