This essay was written by Clay in support of National Youth Service Day 2004.
Every April, this great country stands back on National Youth Service Day in awe of the amazing contributions that young people make to their communities 365 days of the year. Statistics show that my generation, and those kids who are following us, are volunteering more than any group in American history. You might say that we are the “we” generation.
This statistic about youth service surprises many adults, yet this is only one of the many false assumptions that kids deal with as they grow up in the United States today. For instance, when was the last time you looked at a young person with a disability as someone who could help you, as opposed to someone who needed help? Most people know me as Clay Aiken the singer, but long before I sang a note on national television, more than a few folks were surprised to learn that I was also a college student studying hard for my bachelor’s degree in special education.
I am helping Youth Service America, the national leader of the youth service and service-learning movement, to call on all young people, including youth with disabilities, to serve their communities on the 16th annual National Youth Service Day on April 16-18th. Since most of our generation is already experienced as volunteers, we should have no trouble turning up the volume and showing the country that we are assets regardless of our age or our abilities.
As one who works with children with special needs, I am always inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s quote: “Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.” With that in mind, I joined with my friends Diane and Michael Bubel of North Carolina to create the Bubel/Aiken Foundation. I was Michael’s teacher when I was a student in Charlotte, and Diane was the one who encouraged me to audition for American Idol after she overheard me singing around their house. The Clay Aiken “Able To Serve” Awards, which gives young people with disabilities resources to lead service projects in their communities during and after National Youth Service Day, is one of our Foundation’s first initiatives.
America is a great country that I am fortunate to be seeing in my new career. But as great as we may be, we still have so many unmet needs that could be filled by those of us who are under 25, from all kinds of backgrounds, and with all kinds of abilities. As young people, we are blessed with amazing energy, idealism, creativity, and commitment, and these are exactly the kinds of contributions needed at the problem-solving tables of America. If adults will only make room for us.
In fact, given problems such as poverty and illiteracy, we cannot afford to turn away anyone who wants to volunteer as a full and active citizen in our country. More than a decade ago, we passed the Americans With Disabilities Act, designed to increase access to public places, education, and jobs for the disabled, yet many parts of our society still fail to include these valuable citizens in their communities. Everyone’s voice is needed and deserves to be heard.
Think of all the people and the places in your community that could use your help, and come to
www.YSA.org and register your National Youth Service Day project. As we volunteer by the millions in April, youth with and youth without disabilities will read to younger kids, plant trees, paint community centers, serve meals to the hungry, build houses for the homeless, dig community gardens, launch recycling programs, and much more.
Service, and the learning that goes with it, fosters citizenship, knowledge, and personal development in everyone, young and old, disabled and able-bodied. Youth Service America works hand in hand with tens of thousands of schools, national nonprofits, and local community partners all over the country in making National Youth Service Day the largest service event in the world.
Why don’t you join us? You never know how good you will feel by doing some good, and you might learn to defeat some expectations and avoid what people may presume about you. And that’s really something to sing about.
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