Hey friends, David here. I'm turning 26 on December 7th this year and as is the case every year, my grandma, mother, and miscellaneous other family members have been asking me what sort of gifts I would like for the last two months.

I'm realizing more and more that I have so much already. I have been blessed with a loving family, an amazing, intelligent, and beautiful wife and a growing little boy (who turns two in January!).

I have so much more than I need.

So this year I've decided to set a goal of raising enough money to provide clean water to 26 people without regular access to it. Lack of clean water is one of the biggest issues in the world today and making it possible for impoverished communities to have regular access to clean water is a HUGE deal. Here's a few stats to back up what I'm talking about:

--663 million people in the world live without clean water.

That’s nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide. Or, twice the population of the United States. The majority live in isolated rural areas and spend hours every day walking to collect water for their family. Not only does walking for water keep kids out of school or take up time that parents could be using to earn money, but the water often carries diseases that can make everyone sick.

But access to clean water means education, income and health - especially for women and kids.

--Diseases from dirty water kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

43% of those deaths are children under five years old. Access to clean water and basic sanitation can save around 16,000 lives every week.

--Clean water helps keep kids in school, especially girls.

Less time collecting water means more time in class. Clean water and proper toilets at school means teenage girls don’t have to stay home for a week out of every month.

--Women are responsible for 72% of the water collected in Sub-Saharan Africa.

When a community gets water, women and girls get their lives back. They start businesses, improve their homes, and take charge of their own futures.

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If you would please consider making a donation through this charity:water page I would be so thankful to you! I truly believe this is a cause worth supporting.

Every cent of every dollar donated goes directly to build clean water projects, and when they’re complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the exact community we helped!

Thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday in this way! If you have any questions or you'd like to learn more about why I'm doing this and how you can help, you can send me an email: daviddpfaltzgraff@gmail.com

David