Multi-Platinum Recording Artist Clay Aiken Joins Forces With Youth Service America to Present the 'Able To Serve' Awards

NEWSWIRE

To: National Desk

Contact: Christina Wessell, 202-296-2992 ext. 28 or cwessell@ysa.org, Robert Bisi, 202-296-2992 ext. 24 or Rbisi@ysa.org, both of Youth Service America

WASHINGTON, March 24 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Youth Service America and the Bubel/Aiken Foundation are pleased to announce the Clay Aiken ABLE to SERVE Awards, which will provide 50 grants of up to $2,000 each to youth with disabilities for community service projects on National Youth Service Day, April 15-17, 2005. Youth Service America is partnering with four premiere national organizations that work with youth with disabilities, Best Buddies, Special Olympics, National Service Inclusion Project, and VSA arts, to distribute the grants.

The ABLE to SERVE Awards will provide young people with disabilities the opportunity to work side-by-side with youth without disabilities to serve their communities. Award winners will be eligible for an additional grant of $1,000 for the purpose of continuing the service project beyond National Youth Service Day.

"Service, and the learning that goes with it, fosters citizenship, knowledge, and personal development in everyone, young and old, with disabilities and without," said Clay Aiken, who was appointed National Ambassador for the US Fund for UNICEF in 2004. "Our partnership with Youth Service America will bring awareness to the fact that youth with disabilities are great assets and can serve as volunteers too."

Clay Aiken, whose debut album "Measure of a Man" sold nearly 3 million copies, has long been passionate about working to help youth with disabilities. Before his success on American Idol catapulted him into stardom, Clay studied Special Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He taught and mentored a student with autism named Michael Bubel, and formed a close bond with the Bubel family. In 2003, Clay and Michael's mother Diane Bubel launched the Bubel/Aiken Foundation to create awareness about the diversity of individuals with disabilities and the possibilities inclusion can bring.

National Youth Service Day is coordinated by Youth Service America, in association with the National Youth Leadership Council and in partnership with PARADE Magazine. In addition to thousands of projects led by youth, schools, community and faith- based groups, 50 organizations across the country serve as Lead Agencies for National Youth Service Day. The Lead Agencies are local, regional, or statewide liaisons for National Youth Service Day, promoting projects and celebrations, coordinating volunteer recruitment, local media outreach, and hands-on participation by elected officials.

Financial support for National Youth Service Day is provided by State Farm Companies Foundation, General Motors Foundation, the Bubel/Aiken Foundation, DisneyHand, U.S. Department of Justice, Verizon, AT&T, Motorola, Bridgestone, and the Janus Foundation. Youth Service America is joined by a consortium that includes 115 of the nations' largest nonprofit and youth development organizations, including: March of Dimes, U.S. Department of Justice YMCA, Camp Fire USA, National Education Association (NEA), the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and many more.

National Youth Service Day Tool Kits, Service-Learning Curriculum Guides, posters, grants, and more are available for youth, parents, and teachers at the Youth Service America website at: http://www.YSA.org/nysd. Participating in this event will teach youth how to create a financial budget, plan an event, design materials, fundraise, and take leadership roles.

The mission of The Bubel/Aiken Foundation aims to create awareness about the diversity of individuals with disabilities and the possibilities inclusion can bring. Through collaborations with the disability, education, entertainment, and media communities, the Foundation will recognize those whose commitment to breaking the stereotypes attendant to the developmentally disabled has broken barriers and extended the boundaries of the human experience for all. For more information, visit: http://www.thebubelaikenfoundation.org.

Youth Service America is a national nonprofit resource center that partners with thousands of other organizations committed to strengthening the youth service movement. Youth Service America's programs and services help to strengthen the effectiveness, sustainability, and scale of the youth service and service-learning fields on a local, national, and global level. In addition to National Youth Service Day and Global Youth Service Day, which take place concurrently each April, YSA also hosts SERVEnet (http://www.SERVEnet.org), providing the largest database of volunteer opportunities in America. For more information, visit http://www.YSA.org.

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