The circle of giving through Clay

Hello everyone,

Yesterday was Clay's 29th birthday. Now, we all knew that. But did you know some of the initiatives fans took to wish Clay a happy birthday? Here are just two of them, and they are wonderful! Make me proud to be a part of the Clay nation.

An Online Fan Club member came up with the idea of collecting new books to be donated to a Christmas drive for children, in honour of Clay's birthday. The drive is in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Clay sang last night - and apparently the books were piled people-high in the lobby of the venue, as fans brought in box after box! Congratulations to the fan (you know who you are!) who came up with this amazing idea, got people organized, alerted the local drive, asked the venue if it would be workable (they responded with an enthusiastic "yes") and made it all happen, with her supporting crew. I heard that as of last night, there were over 1,200 books gifted, as well as more than $600 in gift cards for purchasing more books!

Over on The Clayboard, members set a goal to raise enough money by Clay's birthday ($10,000) to fund a summer camp for inclusion, part of the Bubel-Aiken Foundation's work. You can imagine the outcome: of course, Clayboarders came up with almost $12,000 for Clay's birthday, surpassing their goal.

It's an endless circle of giving in the Clay nation: Clay has given - and continues to give - so much to us, his fans. He gives to the community (through, among other things, the Bubel-Aiken Foundation) and to the world (through UNICEF and of course, his voice). He makes us want to be better people, so we give to our communities, to him, to each other - among other things, through initiatives such as the two described above. What can be better than that? In my opinion, life does not get any better than in moments such as those, in love and solidarity and tribute given in such beautiful ways.

What a tremendous way to start off the Christmas season!

And now for another pleasant way to enjoy the season: check out these pictures from last night's concert! Thanks to toni7babe and jtgranny: