As we all get ready for another exciting Olympics, I wanted first to talk to you all about something that is very important to me. In addition to being a mom and a broadcaster, I have also joined Right to Play, a humanitarian organization that evolved out of Olympic Aid more than a decade ago.

Back in 1996, I took a trip to Rawanda with some other athletes. This was just two years after the genocide there. When you take trips like that and get to see how people's lives are affected by war, children in particular, it is impossible to describe. Not just what you see, but also how it affects you. To say that it moves you is an understatement. It changes you. It really does open your eyes to a lot of things. After that trip, I became a special representative for the U.S. Committee for UNICEF as a special representative for sport.

That was just the beginning. Right to Play is an organization founded by an Olympian named Johann Olav Koss which, in a nutshell, sets up camps to help kids learn to play sports and have fun in several different countries around the world. We bring the camps into developing countries that have been affected by war, try to bring play and sport into these children's lives.

The goal is to help bring people together through sport, learning conflict resolution and peaceful relationships, immunizing children, teaching them about health and ultimately helping them build and develop communities again.

I was in Sierra Leone back in 2001, after they fought a 10-year civil war, with the child soldiers displaced from families and taught to kill. When the war was over, there were thousands of 16-19 year old boys in refugee camps because they didn't know where their families were or if they were even alive.

This is another example of the sad stories that should not and cannot be forgotten. As the Olympics approach and we celebrate the great spirit of countries around the world, let's also remember that there are people in need.

No matter how old you are, you can learn more and help. Thanks and talk to you soon.

http://www.Righttoplay.org