Claymates Epitomize "The Season of Giving"

The Clay nation has many reasons to be proud this week. And we're not only talking about the marvelous tour Clay has just kicked off to rave reviews from the press.

To celebrate Clay's 29th birthday, various groups in the Clay nation have been raising money and books as their birthday present for Clay.

• As we told you last week, a group of Clay fans in Kalamazoo, MI collected books that were donated to local schools and libraries. Over 1200 (wow!) books were donated by generous Clay fans on top of almost $700 in gift cards. Carolina On My Mind has posted a nice summary of the project:

  Proposed in early November by Michigan resident Rohdy, the inspired idea was quickly adopted by other CA fans, who selected books from suggested lists and either took them to the Kalamazoo concert, shipped them via UPS, or mailed gift cards to be redeemed at book stores locally and online.
  
  Sponsored by Kalamazoo Communities in Schools, the Bagels and Books project was designed to promote literacy and adult interaction with children. B&B events bring parents and community volunteers into the public schools to read one-on-one with students.
  
  Prior to the downbeat, KSChristian4Clay reported to the Clayversity cellstream: The table is piled high with stacks of books reaching up to people's faces. There are boxes and boxes of books, and fans are still bringing in more!
  
  Toni2marie shared: My sister and I arrived at the venue around 6:15, and we placed our books on the table and signed the birthday card. At that time there were only about 50 books on the table. It was incredible to see the table fill up with books over the next two hours.
  
  Saturday the books and gift cards were delivered to the KCIS offices in Clay's honor. Way to go, Clay Nation!

• The Clayboard raised close to $12,000 for the Bubel Aiken Foundation's Let's ALL Play summer camp program. This money will be enough for the TBAF to support one camp, helping them achieve their 2008 goal of supporting 100 camps across the nation. Well done, Clayboarders!