On all of my past birthdays, I have always received stuff... Stuff I don't want, stuff I definitely don't need. And to be honest, I hardly even remember what I got last year.

So this year, I'm giving my birthday up.

I'm turning 24 years old, and instead of asking for gifts, I'm asking for $5000 or more from everyone I know. It's not going to me, though. All of it is going to build freshwater wells for people in developing nations.

A billion people in the world are living without clean water - but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 45,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won't, but still walk hours each day to get dirty water to give to their families.

My birthday wish this year is not for more gifts I don't need; it's to give clean and safe drinking water to some of the billion living without it. I want to make my birthday matter this year.

Every $20 gives one person clean drinking water for 20 years. Each well project costs $5000 so if we do reach the $5000 goal, we've successfully sponsored the drilling of a well, giving 50 underprivileged families (or 250 people) access to clean drinking water.

Please join me,
Thank you!

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." - Albert Pine