Truth Rules

A blog for fans of Clay Aiken. It may take a while but in the end, truth will win out over lies. Keep it clean, no threats ... and if I don't like what you say I own the delete key.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Clay Aiken: Using His Voice

Clay Aiken is always saying "Use Your Voice" and he does. If you read his book "Learning to Sing" you know that he used his voice back when he was a counselor for the YMCA to fight for including children with disabilities into the program. That led to the creation of the Buble/Aiken Foundation in 2003. The foundations "Champions of Change" gala is this coming weekend and it's the perfect time to review the many ways Clay Aiken has used his voice and donated his time to make a difference in the lives of others these past 5 years.

  • 2004 Dover Downs Benefit concert
  • 2004 Rosalynn Carter Benefit, the America's Promise Benefit
  • 2004 Heather Headley's Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids Benefit
  • 2004 celebrity reader and spokesperson for Arthur Celebrity Audiobook (Stories for Heroes Series)
  • 2004 spokesperson for the Toys for Tots campaign
  • 2004 ambassador for Ronald McDonald house charities
  • 2004 participated in the NBC4 telethon, which raised over $10 million
  • 2005 films Tsunami Relief promo for UNICEF
  • 2005 recorded public service announcements and video for Tusnami Relief
  • 2005 spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF drive
  • 2005 visited tsunami stricken Banda Aceh with UNICEF
  • 2005 went to Uganda for UNICEF to help call attention the plight of children called "night commuters"
  • 2005 speaker at Pacific Rim Conference
  • 2005 speaks before Congress on behalf of UNICEF
  • 2006 participates in raising $1 million for the David Foster Foundation
  • 2006 takes part in UNICEF's Snowflake Lighting event
  • 2007 visits Afghanistan for UNICEF
  • 2007 spends his Christmas in Mexico with the children affected by the floods for UNICEF
  • 2008 works with the cast of Spamalot to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids
  • 2008 travels to Somalia and Kenya for UNICEF
This list doesn't include his visits to hospitals and schools that are never publicized nor is it a comprehensive list of every thing Clay Aiken has done for others over the past 5 years. The work he does for his own foundation is not included either.

Oh yeah - he sings too.




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Thursday, October 09, 2008

Clay Aiken: What's really important

If you follow Clay Aiken you've seen blog after blog after blog going on and on about his announcement that yes, he is gay. Maybe every blogger out there wants to get their say on the subject but as Clay said, that's only a small facet of the real Clay Aiken.

"Finally, I will say that, also representative of most every other gay man and woman in the world, that I am not defined by my sexuality. No more so than each of you are defined by your sexual orientation. No more than a man or woman is defined by race or ethnicity. It is, simply, a small facet of the same person I have always been."

I have to wonder why focusing on being gay is so much more important than recognizing that worldwide 25,000 children die each day largely due to preventable causes. A few days ago Clay wrote a field notes blog for UNICEF asking for help for these children. I watched as this blog alert slid further and further down the Google pages until it disappeared from sight. Why is a child dying less important than weighing in on someone's sexuality?

"Your support will help UNICEF reach the day when no child dies of a preventable cause. No child, not even one, should die of causes we know how to prevent—diseases like malaria, measles or tetanus."




As Clay said in his message to his fan club
"What a bunch of headline news we have had in the past 10 days! Wall Street falling to it's knees. Congress propping it back up. Two debates. Hijackers in Somalia. New leaders in South Africa and Japan. You'd think with all of the important events going on in the world, there would be plenty to fill up the pages of America's newspapers, websites and blogs without the need for information on the private lives of the country's singers and entertainers."
Why is weighing in on someone's private life more important than trying to help prevent unnecessary deaths for the world's children?


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