Clay Aiken and Jaymes Foster, new parents

Clay & Jaymes in Dec 2006

Clay has spoken many times about wanting children.

Before American Idol he worked as a substitute teacher for a class of elementary school children with Autism. He was so inspired he decided to go to school for Special Education. He was just 6 credits short when he appeared on AI. During the summer in 2003 he toured with the other cast members & completed his degree through an independent study project. The project was to create a fictional foundation that served a special education population. That project turned into the Bubel Aiken Foundation, BAF.

The BAF works to help include children with disabilities into the life environment of children without disabilities. This summer the BAF has given many grants to Lets All Play camps all over the country.

Clay has continued to worked to benefit the lives of children all over the world through his work with Unicef & here in the US through the BAF.

On Friday Clay's dream of becoming a father came true. August 8th, 2008 at 8:08am Clay Aiken & Jaymes Foster (sister of David Foster) had their first child, a son. His name is Parker Foster Aiken. He was 6lbs 2oz & 19in long. Clay said, on his blog, "the little man is healthy, happy and as loud as his daddy. Momma Jaymes is doing quite well also."

I look forward to pictures of the happy family.

UNICEF spotlights forgotten humanitarian crisis in Somalia

Celebrity Ambassador returns from visit to one of the poorest and most volatile countries in the world and shares his impressions, frustrations and concerns for the children he met there.

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UNICEF USA Ambassador Clay Aiken visits Somalia

NAIROBI, Kenya, 2 July 2008 – During a five-day visit to the self-declared republic of Somaliland in north-west Somalia, UNICEF USA Ambassador Clay Aiken was moved by the work that UNICEF is doing under challenging circumstances.

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Unicef Ambassador Clay Aiken in Chiapas Mexico

CHIAPAS, Mexico, December 25, 2007: UNICEF Ambassador Clay Aiken celebrated Christmas at a flood shelter with the children of Ostuacan, Chiapas. In one weekend last month torrential rains in produced the worst flooding the region has seen in more than 50 years. More than one million residents from Chiapas and the adjoining state of Tabasco have been affected, one third of which are children. (PRNewsFoto/U.S. Fund for UNICEF)

CHIAPAS MEXICO

Clay Aiken & Family Celebrate Christmas With Survivors of Mexico's Floods

CHIAPAS, Mexico, Dec. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- UNICEF Ambassador andcritically acclaimed recording artist Clay Aiken today wrapped up the firstleg of his trip to the flood affected areas of southeast Mexico byparticipating in a gift exchange and "sing along" with over 300 childrenand their families at a camp erected for flood victims.

Aiken, who is traveling in the region with his mother and youngerbrother, a Marine on leave from Iraq, will also be part of a UNICEFdelegation scheduled to visit the state of Tabasco over the next two days. "The situation in Chiapas and Tabasco has really become a forgottenemergency," said the U.S. pop star who became an ambassador for thechildren's agency in 2004. "Telling the story of these brave people,especially the children, to a U.S. audience is the reason that I am here.Sharing this experience with my family during this time of year makes iteven more special." In one weekend last month torrential rains in Tabasco and Chiapasproduced the worst flooding the region has seen in more than 50 years. Morethan one million residents of the two states have been affected, one thirdof which are children. While an integrated humanitarian response lead by government and U.N.agencies has stabilized the emergency in Mexico, thousands remain homelessand displaced. According to UNICEF officials in the region, children arethe most vulnerable in these situations. Hundreds of them are at risk ofpsychological trauma and many more are out of school due to extensivestructural damage to school buildings. Today's event, also attended by Hon. Isabel Aguilera de Sabines, FirstLady of the state of Chiapas, was held in the city of Ostuacan where 19deaths were recently reported after a series of mudslides engulfed thesmall mountain community of Juan de Grijalva and the search for six missingresidents is ongoing. Chiapas is bordered on the north by the state of Tabasco, on the southby the Pacific Ocean, on the east by the Central American nation ofGuatemala and on the west by the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz. Chiapas has111 municipalities. Its capital, Tuxtla Gutierrez, lies near the center ofthe state. Tabasco is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Mexico, to thesouth by the state of Chiapas, to the east by Guatemala and Campeche and tothe west by Veracruz. Villahermosa is Tabasco's capital city.

How to help:

Please visit Clay Aiken and UNICEF, helping children everywhere

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The True Measure of a Man

ABC News has an interesting article about celebrities helping to draw attention to humanitarian organizations needs around the world.
Paris to Rwanda: Socialite Becomes Latest Star Hitched to Charity

There is some great information about UNICEF & Clay Aiken, one of the UNICEF ambassadors. Clay Aiken is an Ambassador for Education.

The article does question whether celebrity charity activists have ulterior motives & it uses Paris Hilton's upcoming trip to Rwanda. Whatever her motivation is remains to be seen but it's obvious what Clay Aiken's motivations are from the many quotes in the article.

Clay Aiken's first trip for UNICEF. Banda Aceh several months after tsunami.

"Celebrities have the ear and attention of the public," said Szarkowski (Lisa Szarkowski heads the ambassador program for Unicef). "They tend to command more attention than talking heads from our organization."

Attention that leads to big bucks. Aiken asked fans to donate money to Unicef to help the children in Lebanon and raised more than $75,000 in 24 hours.

So getting involved in causes may help celebrities draw attention to a specific need in some other part of the world as well as get their names in the spotlight -- but just how involved are they?

UNICEF sets high standards for their celebrity ambassadors

It's not easy to be selected as a Unicef ambassador. The group sets high standards for celebrities to live up to.

"In terms of becoming an ambassador, it's definitely a process," said Szarkowski. "We like to work with people who are committed to the cause and the mission and to align themselves with us for the long term."

Aiken made the cut when he was named a Unicef ambassador in 2004. The organization approached Aiken after hearing of his involvement with his own charity, the Bubel/Aiken foundation that helps young people with special needs.

Aiken said he felt obligated to help those in need.

"One of the most important responsibilities that you have if you're answering to the public is that you try to use that position in a way that serves the people you're trying to entertain," said Aiken. "I think you have a responsibility when you realize you have kids watching you. ... You can set an example to have kids doing drugs, or you can set an example to have kids helping their communities or their world."

Clay Aiken's trip to Uganda for UNICEF

UNICEF preparations for trips. They are not just photo-ops.

Despite some common misconceptions, celebrity representatives don't just jet set off for a photo-op; they prepare for months before taking a trip.

"We prepare them pretty well," said Szarkowski. "People don't become ambassadors or supporters of ours unless they go through a process of learning about us and engaging with us."

Celebrities sit through classes to learn about Unicef and all the various issues that threaten children's survival around the world.

"We study as much as we possibly can before we go," said Aiken. "And I study after I go, because I want to be an expert on it. I think it's a disservice to the country you're going to and the children you're trying to help if you don't know what's going on and can't speak knowledgably about your experience.'

Aiken said the preparation is necessary in order to meet with health ministers and other officials on these trips.

"It wouldn't behoove anyone if we just went in to take pictures and came back," said Aiken. "The goal of all these visits and the reason we sit through extremely long sessions sometimes is so when we come back we know what we're talking about."

Uganda Night Commuters.

Where do the celebrities stay?

Aiken didn't know what to expect during his first visit to Uganda. He walked into the minimalist community center, where he expected nobody to know his name. Suddenly, he was greeted with bows from the crowd.

"When we walked in, they kept calling me your excellency," laughed Aiken. "I think both visits we've been on there have been misconceptions about how important I am."

All joking aside, no matter how famous -- or infamous -- a celebrity is, celebrity support is essential.

But with so many problem areas across the globe, how do celebrities decide which country they want to visit? For most, the decision is made based on where the greatest need is at that time.

"The celebrities we work with want to go where they can be most helpful," said Szarkowski. "We're fortunate to have that caliber of people who basically say to us, 'Tell me where you want me to go.'"

In her eight years at Unicef, she said she's never had a celebrity refuse to go where they were asked to go. And the places they're asked to go certainly don't come with luxe accommodations.

"It's usually a tent somewhere.That's our standard accommodation," said Szarkowski.

In Afghanistan giving a baby a polio vaccine.

Who pays for celebrity ambassador trips?

Aiken and others pay their own way when they travel on behalf of Unicef. However, once they reach their destination, they don't have the need for many expenses. Most nights they're sleeping in tents on the ground.

In addition to the bare bones travel accommodations, celebrities must cope with extremely dangerous situations. In order to avoid conflict, Prendergast said every minute detail of the trip must be mapped out.

"These trips have to be planned very well to ensure maximum impact and security," said Prendergast.

Clay Aiken answers why he only supports his own foundation & UNICEF publicly.

But, Aiken cautions, a focus on one organization or charity is important to the public.

"I get requests from every organization to come and do this or that," said Aiken. "It's not that I don't have a passion for kids with cancer, because I do. I feel like you can dilute your message if you talk about too many things."

Clay's bottom line

"I look to Angelina Jolie as a prime example of someone who is doing an amazing job," said Aiken. "She really has a passion and she goes in and makes a point to educate herself about what's going on and that's the only way to do it."

Whatever one believes about Angelina Jolie she is obviously passionate about her work with UNICEF and has been for years. I see Clay Aiken as following her good example.

Excerpts from:
Paris to Rwanda: Socialite Becomes Latest Star Hitched to Charity
How Involved Are Celebrity Charity Activists, and Do They Have Ulterior Motives?
By BLAIR SODEN
Oct. 19, 2007

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