The other week I saw a story that impacted me immensely. It was an incredible story, but more importantly, it was truly inspiring. After hearing it, I watched it again with my children. Then, with them there, I decided to take action. I am “donating my birthday”... (explanation to come…)

Being as young as they are, they were quite shocked at what I did. Dad! You’re going to donate your birthday! No presents! No gifts! Really! Are you sure???!!! (They couldn’t believe their eyes.)
But as an adult, my action feels like the least I could do to make a bit of difference.
When I saw what I saw, I thought of my beautiful children (Cassie at 9, Bianca at 6, and Damian at 7 months). If they were not born into “our world”, they could be the people in that story, and it would break my heart.

What does it mean to “Donate Your Birthday”??? Well, I think it is a very ingenious idea, and makes perfect sense to me… and more importantly, it reflects the person I want to be.

This year I'm celebrating my birthday differently. I don't want presents or drinks. I want clean water.

Did you know that almost a billion people on the planet do NOT have access to clean drinking water? Every day, 5,000 kids die from water-related illnesses before they reach their fifth birthday. Women and children around the world walk hours every day to collect water for their families. And the worst part? The water they collect can make them really sick.
But it doesn't have to be that way. There are simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to communities around the world.
We can actually do something about it. It’s amazing that just $20 can give a person clean water to drink.

I don’t usually ask for presents, but this year I’ve decided to make an exception. I’m asking all my friends and family to donate my age in dollars to charity: water and give clean water to people who need it, instead of giving me gifts.

The best part is that 100% of the money we raise will directly fund water projects around the world, and when those projects are complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the impact we made. That means we'll know the locations and names of the communities we helped. I can't think of a better birthday gift.

PLEASE DONATE TO MY CAMPAIGN, AND MAKE THIS MY BEST BIRTHDAY YET!

P.S. The story I saw can be found here… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLdDMDkwK1s
NOTE: Be warned, it’s 50 minutes long, but worth it. I’ve watched it 3 times. Although there is a short video below on this page, I encourage you to take the time to learn the full story.