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Clay Aiken: UNICEF Ambassador 
Tue, Aug 26
emerson032 produced a very nice montage featuring Clay Aiken's work with UNICEF. Here is her video, set to Clay Aiken singing "It's In Every One Of Us" and excerpts from her post detailing Clay's history with UNICEF.
In 2003, Clay Aiken appeared on the show American Idol. While on the show, Clay said that he wanted to use the platform he had gained from his American Idol status to make a difference in the lives of the world's most vulnerable children. Aside from starting a foundation (The Bubel/Aiken Foundation) for the inclusion of children with disabilities into summer camp settings with children without disabilities - a program which is now nationally recognized and has resulted in many summer programs.
UNICEF noticed much of the charitable work that Clay was involving himself in. They named him a UNICEF Ambassador in 2004. His first trip for UNICEF, in 2005, was to the tsunami-devastated region of Banda Aceh in Indonesia. He followed up this trip by doing public service announcements in support of Southeast Asia tsunami relief efforts and appearing on behalf of UNICEF before the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the Committee on Appropriations, United States House of Representatives.
In May of 2005, Clay traveled to Northern Uganda to witness the phenomenon of "night commuters," children who trek from the countryside into slightly more secure towns and UNICEF-supported shelters every night to avoid being abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army. In 2005, Clay was appointed national spokesperson for the 55th annual Trick-or-Treat UNICEF campaign to help raise funds for the world's most vulnerable children, including the young victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Moved by the plight of the children caught in the July 2006 Middle East conflict, Clay encouraged his fans to support UNICEF's relief work in Lebanon. In days, he had raised over $70,000 to help provide lifesaving medicines and other emergency supplies for children in need.
In November 2006, Clay lit the UNICEF Snowflake for the 2006 holiday season. The UNICEF Snowflake is a dazzling crystal ornament which graces the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in New York City during the holiday season as a beacon of hope, peace and compassion for vulnerable children around the world.
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In January 2007, Clay launched UNICEF UpClose, an awareness-building campaign powered by Yahoo as a means to increase involvement of others in helping UNICEF work for the survival of children worldwide. In April of 2007, Clay visited worn-torn Afghanistan and launched the "$100,000 in 10 Days" campaign to support UNICEF's lifesaving programs in that country. He even grew a beard and dressed in local garb out of respect to those in the villages he visited. Ultimately, he learned that the beard wasn't necessary, but, the visit turned out to be an extremely valuable lesson for him about the complexities of the situation in the Middle East.
After finishing a Christmas Tour in the US, and weeks before starting up in a major, first-time role on Broadway in the play Spamalot, Clay went on yet another trip for UNICEF. He spent Christmas in flood-ravaged communities in Mexico. He felt if UNICEF wasn't getting a break for Christmas, he shouldn't either. Then, after spending 4 months on Broadway, doing 8 shows a week and working on a new CD during the day, Clay traveled in early July (2008) to visit with the children in war-torn areas of Somalia and to schools in Kenya.[...]
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