The Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund was established in 2019 and awards scholarships to Kenosha County residents entering college who are preparing for a career that addresses mental health challenges.
Clay was an absolute light in the lives of everyone around him. Born and raised in Kenosha, it was always clear how gifted he was. He excelled at athletics from a young age and had a magnetism that you couldn't help but gravitate toward.
In school, Clay was smart and a leader. He got along with every group: white kids, black kids, Hispanic kids, popular kids and everyone in between. If you needed a friend, he was there. Don’t we need more Clay’s in our world today? One of the things I was most proud of him for was that he was the one all his friends went to for advice. He listened to them and helped so many of them providing good, solid advice, yet he was only a teen himself.
Clay was a fierce protector of his family, friends, and teammates. His dream was to be a Marine.
But things would change for Clay when he turned 14 years old. That's when his mental health took a turn and depression set in. He never wanted to go talk to a counselor and never wanted the label of 'depression'. He had been seen as such a happy, successful kid that the stigma prevented him from getting the help he needed.
Because of his untreated depression, Clay went down a path that got darker and darker, despite his family trying so many options to help. On June 21st 2014, Clay took his own life. Clay made thousands of great decisions throughout his life, and I will never let this “one” decision define who he was. My promise to you is that I will do everything in my power to bring awareness to mental health. I want every person, you, me, your son or daughter to be healthy, happy and truly live their life without fear of a label.
One of our goals with the Clay Davison Legacy Foundation is to erase the stigma and labels. I would love nothing more than to know that because of sharing Clay’s story that maybe someone you know will be okay with not being okay. And if they need help, they will reach out. The Clay Davison Legacy Scholarship Fund will be available to help Kenosha County students pursuing college in the fields of social services, psychology and mental health care. We need to reduce the lack of providers that help with mental health services.
If you would like to help make this happen, please click the 'Donate' button on our homepage.
You can also reach out to us at fightingfor44@gmail.com.