Fans Celebrate Clay Aiken's Birthday with $50k Grant

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - The Clay Nation hopes to deliver a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant for the National Inclusion Project as a gift for Clay Aiken, the foundation's co-founder. Graphic by Fountaindawg.

#2 NIP in Line for $50k Grant

CA Fans Mark Birthday by Voting

Two important events headline the network of Clay Aiken message boards -- a continuous Cyber celebration of the singer's 33rd birthday and the final push to provide his foundation, the National Inclusion Project, a $50,000 Pepsi Refresh grant.

The latter would be one of the best birthday gifts fans could give Clay, whose commitment to connecting children with special needs to all life has to offer was his focus as a special education major prior to the American Idol step into fame.

UPDATE: It's official! The National Inclusion Project will be awarded a $50,000 Pepsi Refesh grant from November's competition. The banner replica links to the NIP's finalist page at the Pepsi site:

In July 2003, during the American Idol 2 Tour, Clay and Diane Bubel of Charlotte co-founded the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, renamed the National Inclusion Project in 2009.

Amid the Clay Cyber cavalcade of birthday greetings with accompanying art work are reminders to pull out all the stops, vote with every available account, and recruit new supporters in the final hours of the grant campaign, which ironically ends at midnight on the singer's 32nd birthday.

Vote 3 ways to expand inclusive programs for all children.

New participants need to register at the Pepsi Refresh site (bottom left corner) and vote three ways: US-based email, Facebook, and by sending a mobile phone text: 109857 to 73774 (Pepsi).

The NIP Voting Widget in the sidebar includes links and text numbers for the Inclusion Project, as well as partner charities that have supported the foundation this past month.

National Inclusion Project supporters hope to mark the midnight hour of Clay's birthday with the close of a successful campaign for a $50k Pepsi grant for inclusion!

To help celebrate the day, here are clickable birthday wallpapers by graphic artists Fountaindawg, 1, 3, and AmazingCA, 2.

'In My Life' a Tribute to Teachers

As a music instructor from a long line of educators, I especially was touched that Clay performed John Lennon's "In My Life" as a tribute to the teachers in his life during the 2010 Tried & True Live! PBS Special.

On such an important day in his life, I think it appropriate that Clay sign off this blog entry with that exquisite rendition.

In My Life from Clay Aiken: Tried & True ~ LIVE!
View video full screen at YouTube.

Happy Birthday, Clay! Have a wonderfully productive day, Clay Nation!

Caro