For my birthday this year I was stressing about where to go and what to do. But then I found out that millions of people don't live to see their fifth birthdays. And why? Because they don't have access to clean, safe water. Suddenly where to go and what to do didn’t seem to matter.

All of my birthdays have always been about 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 22 years old and instead of asking for gifts, I'm asking for $22 or more from everyone I know that has the means to donate. All of it is going to build freshwater projects for people in developing countries.

Almost 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. 30,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won't, but still have to walk hours each day to get dirty water for 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 people living without it. I want to make my birthday matter this year.

The best part: 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.

My goal is to raise $500 by my birthday, May 4th.