America Responds In Droves To Clay's Yahoo! UNICEF UpClose Answer

"What can we do to get more Americans committed to supporting programs that help children?" ~ Clay Aiken

In just several days, almost 5900 replies poured in to Clay's question (shown above). Yahoo! and UNICEF teamed up last week to gather suggestions on how to better improve their program and how to better engage the public. The question is now closed, but here are some of our favourite answers:

Clay, Ask UNICEF and our own schools to initiate programs where our children communicate with the children/teachers who need assistance. Let them hear first hand what is needed. When these kids in need become real to our children, kids will be sharing what they've learned, and asking their parents to help. In addition, our children will one day grow up into adults who will understand the need out there in the world.

Awareness is always key. The videos on the UNICEF site are powerful but are only seen by a fraction of the people who could help. Perhaps getting network support for more visibility during primetime will start the awareness. Use this primetime exposure to encourage electronic penpal matching with children from the US and counterparts in some of the countries (via the local UNICEF offices). Perhaps American parents can make a donation for their child to enter the virtual penpal program (Keyboard Kids?) Use these stories to show how donations and this virtual friendship changes these children's lives.

Make professional documentaries and air them before and after the American Idol.

Start young students exchanging letters and artwork with children in another part of the world. Match a US classroom with a foreign classroom, and both sets of children will learn about each other's part of the world and begin to care.

One of the things we need to do is to start by helping out the children in our own country. I donate to UNICEF but at the same time I also donate to local children's charities. We need to stop hiding what is happening to our own children. Another thing we need to do is to teach our children to be HONEST with themselves and who they are, and to let them know that no matter their circumstances they can be whatever they want.

How about if every classroom in America could sponsor a UNICEF child? That should probably be on average $1 per month for each child in the class. Then all of those children could take home the message to the parents. Of course, you couldn't force these sponsorships, but perhaps it could be offered as an opportunity for service and a way to bring the community together.

You, as a musician can help by creating music that you feel brings a positive message to that idea. After all, music is the universal language. Also, I think that every high school student should take a class on humanitarianism. Possibly as a required course. Press also has a huge influence. More Americans should write, speak-out and share the noble-ideas and beliefs that they have. Campaigning doesn't always work, but chain-letters and the postal service are also excellent means. Its also a matter of convincing others through one's peer network. Churches and other similar spirited institutions should share these programs with their members. The ideas of these institutions align with the ideas of UNICEF and other similar programs. Leadership in this field is a huge factor. We can learn from good leaders of the past such as Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy, who sparked huge movements in Civil and Equal Rights. If there were more leaders like them fired up in this area, more Americans would get involved.

Well, sorry Clay, but I think what we need to do is to get more attention to the issue, and that starts by putting less focus on the antics of Paris Hilton or the new season of American Idol. I don't have anything against entertainment per se, but our country seems to be deifying celebrity, and while many actors and such don't care for it, the studios encourage it, because maybe you'll go see a crappy movie with the ten bucks you could have sent Unicef just because you feel you have a personal connection with Pauly Shore. It's not just the Hollywood thing either, we're constantly fed that we need a bigger tv or to take pictures with our phones, because most people in America, their needs are met, and need isn't really that profitable anyways, instead they have to pander to selfish wants. Maybe if they put the focus they put into advertising into educating people about these programs, and people weren't worried about paying their cable/cell/internet/xm/ect. bills, paying for these petty desires, then we'd have a broader perspective.