Clay Aiken - an Idol Who Gives Back
March 2007 - Champions of Change
Clay Aiken said on the American Idol Season 2 show that it didn't make a difference how he did it but that he wanted to make sure he used his celebrity to make a difference. Quietly and without a lot of fanfare, Clay Aiken has kept his word.
Ever since the end of the Season 2 show, he has used his days off from touring to make appearances at children's camps, schools and hospitals.
While on tour with the AI2 idols, he finished up his degree in Special Education and started his own charity, The Bubel/Aiken Foundation. Currently the BAF is working with State Farm Insurance to help develop a primary education curriculum focused on teaching social and life skills through service to children of all levels of ability.
He has donated his time and voice to appear on stage with Heather Headley for the benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in May of 2004 and for the 2004 Rosalynn Carter Benefit and the America's Promise Benefit.
He served as a spokesperson for the 2004 Toys for Tots drive.
He became an Ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities and donated a set of his hand prints for their World Children’s Day™ auction in Nov. 2004.
He was appointed a United States Fund for UNICEF National Ambassador making trips to Banda Aceh after the tsunami and Uganda. After returning from Banda Aceh he testified on behalf of UNICEF before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives. He served as UNICEF's national spokesperson for the 55th annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign in 2005. In 2006 he participated in the UNICEF Snowflake Lighting Ceremony and has filmed PSAs for the organization. A third UNICEF trip is planned for this year.
In 2006 he was appointed to the Presidents Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities.
The BAF arranged to publish the book "Our Friend Mikayla" written by third grade classmates of Mikayla, a special needs child. During a tour stop last Christmas, Clay read the book to the students at their school then sent the authors back to their class in limousines.
There are stories, too numerous to mention, on the various Clay fan boards of just how much this man has given back.
Clay Aiken quietly does what he said he would do. Give back.
Update: 4/11 - Afghanistan: Press conference - Clay Aiken, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
posted by Truth Rules | 4:43 PM
9 Comments:
"Clay Aiken quietly does what he said he would do. Give back."
Yes he does, and it's beautiful.
P.S.
So is Clay
When you think about all that he's done in just 4 short years, he truly is an amazing young man. I know he was just as incredible prior to AI but at least we've had these last 4 years to witness his strength and goodness. It was a journey I wouldn't have missed for the world and I look forward to going the distance with him.
There aren't enough words.
Clay has done nothing to deserve the abuse directed towards him.
Thank you Truth Rules for a wonderful Blog. The man you talked about is the REAL CLAY AIKEN!
All of us have followed his life for the last four years - we're not crazy, we know a good man when we see him - and Clay Aiken is a good man!
Very nice blog. The TRUTH does indeed rule! :D
You know, what Clay has accomplished in these few years is amazing.......but I truly believe his future is so bright we'll need shades. There is much more to come, he is destined to do great things. The BAF is still in it's infancy, he has just begun his work on the Presidential committee and greater challenges are no doubt ahead with UNICEF...and that's not including the things he does out of the public eye, that we don't know about. He touches lives every single day with his good heart and gentle spirit. We are blessed to be a part of his journey.
I've been a fan of this wonderful man since "A'm the American Idol" and I look forward to seeing him evolve and grow as time goes by.
He was extraordinary from the begining, he is extraordinary now, and I believe he will continue to be extraordinary for many years to come.
Often criticized for doing charity work as photo ops, I'm remembering all the acts of kindness we've heard about "after the fact," such as the visit to see Tommy at the Toronto Children's Hospital (who died 5 mos later), the visit to the troubled Youth Home in Tennessee, the visit to the wounded soldiers at Bethesda Hosp in Wash., DC, all because someone recognized him and later word got out; not because a cameraman or a reporter accompanied him. Makes you wonder how many others there have been we've never heard about.
It's a sad thing that on the Internet, celebrities become mere photographs, instead of living, breathing human beings with feelings; who hurt, whose families and friends hurt and they are often forced to live with the embarrrassment and humiliation that causes sleepless nights. There has to be a special place in Hell for evil people who do such things. And if not, when I die, I'll work to make sure there is.
Very nice blog! Good people see these things, evil ones do not.
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