Karen Clayton was a beautiful soul who had a passion for helping children in need. As a former schoolteacher, Karen cared for children very deeply and saw the need that existed in our community to help them – specifically the needs of children in the foster care system. She has made a huge impact through several years of volunteering with Carrying Hope, a local nonprofit whose mission is to provide resources to Austin-area children in our foster care system.

Karen organized “Nanny Camps” each summer, where she provided care packs for not only Carrying Hope, but many other local nonprofits to get them the materials and resources they needed for those they serve. Her Nanny Camp was created as a way to teach her grandchildren about serving those in need. As part of her Nanny Camp, she created over a dozen Hope Packs for Carrying Hope, which included comfort items and other essentials that helped children entering the Texas foster care system feel more at home. Karen would bring her five grandchildren along with her to deliver these Hope Packs and volunteer their time for many different local nonprofits to show them the importance of giving back.

Carrying Hope was established in 2016 by foster parents Kristin Finan and Mauri Elbel who were heartbroken that so many Texas children were going from home to home with nothing but the clothes on their backs and decided they wanted to do something about this. Their team works to fill backpacks full of clothes, hygiene and comfort items for foster children to receive during their first 24-48 hours in a new home to make the transition more comfortable. Karen was a huge help to this program. Says Kristin, “Karen’s love of life was infectious, and her heart for giving back to Austin nonprofits was unparalleled. We adored having her in the office, accompanied by all five of her grandchildren, and hearing all about the escapades they had shopping for and putting together Hope Packs for youth in foster care as part of Karen’s annual ‘Nanny Camp.’ Karen lit up any room she walked into. We were extremely saddened to hear about her passing, but we know that her giving spirit will live on in her husband, her children, and her beautiful grandchildren, who will never forget their amazing grandma or the adventures they had as part of Nanny Camp.” Though the loss of Karen has been immense, her impact will certainly live on through all the good she was creating in our community.