This is a photo of a necklace that I wear every day….lemme tell you why:

After the craziness that was American Idol, I was even more determined to use my platform to speak for those who couldn’t… so along with creating the National Inclusion Project, I became a UNICEF Ambassador.

When I went to Afghanistan in 2007 on a UNICEF field visit, I brought my high school social studies teacher with me from North Carolina. On a day off, as we were walking in Kabul together, there was a man selling handmade lapis lazuli jewelry. We looked at all of his handiwork and on the table right there was a pendant he had crafted using a North Carolina quarter!

My former teacher and I were stunned that a North Carolina quarter had made it all the way to Kabul, Afghanistan. I bought it and I’ve been wearing it ever since… you can probably tell by how worn out it looks in the photo!

This necklace reminds me every day that what we do here in the U.S. affects people all over the world – that the smallest thing can make an impact in places and ways we couldn’t even imagine.

We are in the final stretch before the election, and we need all hands on deck. By donating or volunteering, you are taking a small step towards big change for our country and the world.

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Chip in a few bucks to the campaign

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Donating $5 to a favorite candidate or volunteering to knock doors may not feel like a big deal, but these actions can impact people you’ve never even met.

I still don’t know how that little North Carolina quarter made it all the way to Afghanistan, but it’s been with me ever since, reminding me that we’re all much more connected than we think.

-Clay