About the Founder

Justin Benjamin Clay , having faced kidney challenges most of his life became progressively fed up as he encountered and concluded that such a large percentage of those in his surroundings did not understand the harsh reality of kidney disease.

From this harsh reality came the motivation to form a non-profit organization geared toward kidney awareness and the enhancement of the lives of renal patients. Two weeks after earning a degree from Morehouse College with honors, Justin was diagnosed with renal failure.

Just 21 years of age, Justin felt as if his future could very well be very bleak. Because his kidney challenges had always been controllable, Justin had not even a clue about what kidney disease was, let alone the new lifestyle he would have to lead. For him this lifestyle included: a very restrictive diet, dialysis treatment three times a week for several hours, visits to the doctor several times a month, horrifying laboratory results from time to time, and the inability to travel out of town for any significant period .

And as if that were not challenging enough, his search for full-time employment with benefits
that would conform around his medical needs and make him acceptable to employers was perhaps more mentally challenging than the physical challenges he faced.Born with one kidney, amidst the reality of on-going dialysis treatment, Justin was informed that he would have to remove even this kidney in order to receive a transplant. Because there was not even one kidney to facilitate urination, Justin did not urinate for nearly 6 months. Mind you, there were at least 17 surgical procedures between the onset of the disease and the time he received his transplant. After nearly two years of kidney disease, Justin received a kidney from his only sister who miraculously had his same blood type.

Thanks be to God and a man-made machine he is here today undergirded with the motivation to guide others. His resilience and thirst for new ways of earning a living, and helping others has made it posssible for him to pass all parts of the praxis one and two tests to teach marketing education. Currently he is working on his series 3 license in order to work part-time with the only minority commodities firm in Georgia. Justin is a church organist/keyboardist and in 2003 released his orginal Jazz CD, "Now or Never", in honor of all renal patients. Last, but not least, Justin received the Governor's Citation Award for his involvement with the Atlanta Public School System.

Our Headquaters are located in Atlanta, GA.

Where 90 percent of African Americans surveyed heard about kidney disease, only 15 percent felt their personal risk for developing the disease was higher than average and fewer knew specifically how to prevent it. This gap in awareness raises serious concern, especially because 44 percent of them had at least one of the major risk factors for kidney disease -- diabetes, high blood pressure or a blood relative with the disease. In addition, only 17 percent named kidney disease as a consequence of diabetes and only 8 percent named it as a consequence of hypertension. These two diseases are the leading causes of kidney failure in the United States and account for 70 percent of kidney failure among African Americans

More than 15 million people, almost six percent of the population, are affected with diabetes, and each year another 800,000 cases will be diagnosed. A variety of life-threatening complications can occur including blindness, kidney disease, nerve disorders, amputation and heart disease and stroke. Atlanta unfortunately makes up a large percentage of these cases.

Georgia has over 200 dialysis units throughtout the state.