Having my Birthday on St. Patrick's Day has given me countless memories of fun times with family and friends and some great gifts, however not everyone can be so fortunate.

So this year, I want to give back and plan to give up my birthday!

I'm turning 29 on March 17th and instead of getting drinks at the bar or going to fancy dinners, I'm asking for at least $29 from everyone I know to help build freshwater projects for people in developing countries.

My ORIGINAL goal was to raise $1000 by the end of March and it was a great success, so I want to thank everyone that has already donated!

Since there is more than enough time left in March, I'm raising the bar to $2,000 since it never hurts to extend your reach to help more people! It's a tougher goal, but I plan to donate a substantial amount at the end of the campaign because I really believe in the cause.

From my experiences in Engineer's Without Border (EWB) and travelling around the world, I realized clean water is life's most essential element but unfortunately... there are still over 1 billion people that don't have it.

Even where I work at V3 Companies, colleagues have invested their expertise and made a direct impact on a project in the Central African Republic. Here's a short clip of their struggles and success: http://vimeo.com/26739386

My birthday wish this year is to give clean and safe drinking water to just a few of those people living without it because this year, I want to make my birthday matter.

Remember: 100% of all donations go directly toward water projects! And about 18 months after this campaign ends, Charity: Water will show us where and how every dollar we raised ended up helping in the field. We'll see GPS coordinates, photos and more details about the communities we've impacted.

So I challenge you to not just donate, but to actually make a difference.

Thanks,
Amit Pathak