Making a Difference

Clay Aiken has always been an advocate for making a difference, and he has worked hard to achieve that goal. Here are some of the projects he currently has under way:

The Broadway Bears XII
Clay has been very supportive of the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS organization. Currently the BC/EFA will be holding their annual Broadway Bears auction on Sunday, February 15, 2009, but you can now bid on the bears on their online pre-auction which will close on Saturday, February 14 at 2:00 PM EST. The bid for the Spamalot bear, signed by Clay Aiken, stands right now at $4,600.

Sir Robin has found his grail - and "what's that?" Why, "musical theatre"! So here, finale-ready, is Sir Robin Bear, an exact replica of his Broadway counterpart, all set to be a song-and-dance man. And he does have "the loveliest [of] costumes and the best shoes," doesn't he? He wears a white piqué shirt and cream-satin, green and silver (hand-)bugle-beaded double-bow tie under his 3-piece cream suit. His teal-lined cutaway jacket is an Italian wool-gabardine. Those wide lapels are hand-beaded with 375 peridot, green and silver bugle beads. Handmade Swarovski-crystal and rhinestone buttons decorate the jacket-front and long sleeves. His matching pants have a cream satin stripe running down the outside of either leg. And his cream-satin vest has been hand-beaded in a bold green-and-white checkerboard pattern. It was created with 1,076 peridot, kelly green and silver bugle beads, and 80 peridot Swarovski-crystal rhinestones. Not to mention the matching buttons! On his feet are silver-and-white leather spectators with Swarovski-crystal rhinestones trimming the toes. See? The "best shoes"! Atop that softly curled strawberry-blond (synthetic) wig is his debonair, cream-satin top hat. The hatband, by the way, is made of (hand-painted) green and silver rhinestones. More than 30 hours of blood, sweat and love went into hand-beading the more-than 1500 beads and crystals on this tiny suit. To the more than "small percentile who enjoys a dancing gentile": they don't come any finer than Sir Robin. This bear's for you!

Together We Make A Difference
The Bubel/Aiken Foundation and The Institute on Community Integration have teamed up together with a new inclusive service learning program called Together We Make a Difference.

The two organizations have been working on developing this program for the last three years funded by a grant of $190,400 from TBAF. Their goal is to encourage all young people in service learning and to teach social and life skills to all children. Their first program is called Together We Make a Difference: An Inclusive Service Learning Curriculum for Elementary Learners With and Without Disabilities. Later on this year there will be two other programs launched.

The Dancing Wheels Company
The Dancing Wheels Company and School has just received an award in support of their school.

In the 2008/2009 season, The Dancing Wheels Company received a significant award from The Bubel/Aiken Foundation to help fulfill their mission of creating communities where ALL children can learn, live, and play together. The Dancing Wheels Company was one of over 100 applicants selected this year to promote the Foundation’s mission of inclusion.

The Dancing Wheels Company has long been recognized for its award winning, fully integrated in school assembly and residency programs across the nation. Through an artistic approach, the Company dispels myths about disability and the arts and creates an entertaining and valuable message to thousands of children with and without disabilities each year throughout America.

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