12:28 PM EDT on Friday, July 16, 2004

By SONJA GANTT / 6NEWS

6NEWS Clay Aiken helped kids with crafts Thursday at Camp Gonzo in Concord.

CONCORD, N.C. -- Before he was Clay Aiken the ‘American Idol’ runner-up, Aiken spent summers not on stage but in gyms playing with kids as a camp counselor. They called him Gonzo then and now he's created a camp called Camp Gonzo.

"It's kids with disabilities, kids without disabilities, all in the same program all doing the exact same thing. They’re all having the exact same camp experience so it's exactly what we wanted to do,” Aiken said.

Through his Bubel-Aiken Foundation, Aiken has raised enough money to pay for 10 weeks of camp combined in Concord, Raleigh and Kansas City. He is on tour now, but thrilled on his day off to spend the day in Concord and see first hand what he's dreamed about for more than year.

Aiken’s day Thursday was very different than the one he now lives daily. Aiken is on tour and learning how to cope with the instant stardom ‘American Idol’ brought.

"I have a friend of mine, one of my best friends from back home from here, is on the road with me now and he helps coordinate everything so you keep enough people around you who don't care about the celebrity they just want to hang out and talk and watch movies and kick you in the butt when you do something wrong," Aiken said.

He’s also learning about the struggles of being an artist and what he calls the political nature of getting air time.

"What's ironic is that we've had success in radio everywhere else in the country. In Charlotte, the KISS station won't play it. It's a very political situation. They're upset with 19. They're upset with whatever and they won't play the music,” Aiken explained.

But he's encouraged by the success of other artists who sell a lot of CD’s, but don't get much air time. Aiken said he finds it best to think of all the trappings of celebrity the way a child might think of summer camp.

"Because at the end of the summer these kids will go back to school and it’s very possible that in a year or two I'll go back also,” Aiken said. “So you have to take every minute that happens and enjoy it for what it is.”

Aiken takes the stage in Greensboro Friday night. He'll be back in Charlotte October 16 at Carowinds.