Crystal Lett is an advocate for Save the Children Action Network in Ohio.

I became an advocate for Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) at the end of 2016. Like many other Americans, I wanted to make sure that I could build the best future possible for my children – especially since my oldest son has a rare genetic condition and developmental delay. I wanted to ensure that we would continue to be able to provide him with the things he needed to thrive, including educational opportunities.

I wanted to find a way to continue advocating for my child and all children with disabilities. That’s when I became involved with SCAN.

I attended my first SCAN Advocacy Summit in 2016 and I was hooked. SCAN gave me an opportunity to use my voice for my family and for others. It gave me a deeper sense of purpose and a megaphone to be a voice for kids. For the past two years I’ve continued to use that megaphone – and now, perhaps, I face the most important election cycle of my life.

With the midterm elections right around the corner, the topic on the forefront of most people’s minds seems to be – why vote? Ohioans are no different from any other state in their desire to be counted, to matter, to be heard.

Over the past 10 years, Ohio has only increased the budget for early childhood education for inflation – meaning, every year, early learning programs must do more with less. If we want to see more children served, we must ensure that our elected officials state on the record that they value quality early childhood education services and will vote to increase funds.

Children matter. Our duty as adults is to protect children and provide them with what they need to thrive. Voting for educational policy, protecting children both domestically and abroad, and increasing access to quality early childhood education is of the utmost importance if we are going to move the needle in increasing educational and health outcomes in Ohio. Voting is our greatest opportunity to influence the future of our state and country. I vote because it is the most powerful megaphone I have to ensure legislators will invest in kids!