Clay Days
Honoring the work, life,
and legacy of Clay White
Clay Days
Our Story
Clay White was well known in the Atlanta community for his school and summer camp programs that focused on outdoor education, physical movement, and social emotional learning.
"Clay White empowered families, colleagues, teachers, and most importantly, kids, to let their worries go and trust that they could do it. What was it? Picture a kid riding a bike for the first time, summiting a mountain, balancing on a log, or jumping into an icy cold creek... Clay was the force behind literally thousands of those moments. He selflessly prioritized making it happen for so many people, including me,” says Charlie Johnson, OTR/L .
Clay partnered with local private schools, like Hess Academy, to provide weekly outdoor educational experiences like hiking or completing a ropes course. At Hess Academy, these days became affectionately termed as “Clay Days.”
“There are colleagues that make such a profound and personal impact on you, their influence stays with you forever. Clay White was one of those people,” says Dr. Kristen Hess. Clay demonstrated how important movement and outdoor activities are for the overall learning and development of children. His untimely passing summer 2022 left a huge hole in our hearts and our community. While no one can ever truly fill Clay’s shoes, we will do our best to continue providing these learning opportunities for the kids who were so well served by Clay and his programming.
Adventure Well
There are moments in time when you are forced to stop, to realize the fact that another’s life is interwoven with your own–a vivid thread swerving through the tapestry of your narrative. Clay was not one to follow the beaten path. Over the years that he led hikes and overnights, we tried to keep up with him around boulders and to river edges, down ravines, and to the cusps of mountain ridges. He knew the importance of tracing the lines of this land, being in forests, and the human connections, both social and emotional, possible in these experiences. He gave the gift of place. Almost every trail in Georgia was given to us by him.
There’s no question that Clay gave to children: that was his life. Clay also gave to colleagues and friends. We can still see him throwing a rope down to us. “Let’s go. You’re gonna do it, too. C’mon now.” He was always asking those around him to challenge themselves, to reach, to find joy in the conquering of the new. Thanks, Clay. We, and a multitude of others, are so grateful for your story and all the ways yours became ours.
May you rest well and adventure well.
