Clayton Contributes to Efforts for Hurricane Victims

BALTIMORE -- Baltimore Ravens rookie wide receiver Mark Clayton has donated $20,000 to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort for the purpose of purchasing supplies and other necessities for the victims of the storm. The contribution effort, headed by his mother, JacQuetta Clayton, will be directed to the Centurion Faith Foundation.

Centurion Faith Foundation along with Professional Football Players Mothers Association (PFPMA), will team with church members and other friends from the community to purchase and distribute necessities to the victims that have been relocated to the Claytons' hometown of Arlington, Texas.

A large number of the New Orleans evacuees have migrated into the mid-cities of Dallas into the hotels, motels, recreation centers, and church gymnasiums.

Clayton Bio with Baltimore Ravens | Clayton Bio at Oklahoma

JacQuetta Clayton has spent much of the last week volunteering at the Dallas Reunion Arena assisting those displaced from their homes and brought to the Dallas, Arlington, and Grand Prairie area. When JacQuetta had to tell a child that there was no more food, JacQuetta's eyes filled with tears, and she left the facility to purchase food, determined to make sure that no one was left out.

With circumstances such as these, where families lost everything except for the clothing on their backs, it is important to the Clayton family to help get lives back to some normalcy, while also trying to boost self-image and self-worth.

“It's like we live everyday taking life for granted and it's sad that it took something disastrous for us to realize how important and genuine life is; Although, there is no dollar amount you can put on someone's life I feel that just being in a position to be a blessing giving what I could was needed. I wanted to do something to bless someone's life and to be a blessing”, said Mark.

Clayton was born in Oklahoma and raised in Arlington, Texas, where his mother still lives in the metro-plex area.

Before joining the NFL and the Baltimore Ravens as their 2005 No. 1 draft pick, Mark was a standout wide receiver for the University of Oklahoma.

Giving back to people less fortunate is nothing new to Mark. Prior to leaving home for college Mark spent every Thanksgiving at the Martin Luther King Recreational Center feeding the homeless, and during his college years he often served in the community.

Now as a member of the Ravens, Mark recently distributed backpacks and school supplies to 150 children in the Pleasant View area of Baltimore City to prepare them for the upcoming school year.

In addition to giving on his own accord to the New Orleans Evacuees, Deion Sanders asked that all athletes give at lease $1,000 each, but Mark had already sent his Mother a check for $20,000 prior to the request.

As a mother, JacQuetta Clayton is very proud to see the “fruits of her labor” acting in such a manner that needs no direction. “It is what's instilled in him,” said JacQuetta.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Clayton Contributes to Efforts for Hurricane Victims

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