On March 15th, I'm going to be 20.

While I could sit around fretting about turning the big two-zero, thinking about all the things I have yet to do, the reality is that I've been blessed to live a really incredible life in my 19+ years on this earth. I’m in college, doing things I’m passionate about with people whom I love.

Many people don't have that chance.

1 billion people in the world lack clean drinking water. For lack of this most basic resource millions will die before their fifth birthday.

When you don’t have clean water, everything else is secondary. Survival mode kicks in, as families spend hours of the day trekking for miles to get filthy, bacteria-ridden water. Kids don’t get an education. Women don’t have time to pursue opportunities to better themselves and their families. Dirty water and lack of clean sanitation are the culprits behind 80 percent of the diseases in the world.

So for my 20th, I want to help other people gain access to clean water. Because when you have clean water, everything changes.

I'm asking for $20 for my 20th from everyone I know. That is all it takes for one person to have clean water for five years.

Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater wells in developing nations. Even better, every dollar is "proved" when the projects are complete, and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth.

My goal is to raise $2000 by my birthday, March 15th. That’s enough to provide 100 people with clean water.

My birthday wish this year is that 100 people would be forever changed because they received a simple, life-giving gift: water.

Please join me.