Hello all! This is my charity: water campaign. While many of us will be sipping wine this holiday season, many others will be deprived of life's most basic (and often most beautiful) necessity. So I ask that you join me in this small step towards ending this deprivation.

My inspiration came in the form of a good friend who recently took up a campaign for his birthday. I had not been aware of the reach and effectiveness of charity: water, and was very impressed with the program in all of its simplicity and functionality, and spirit. Also, I worked briefly at a charity in inner city Baltimore this past Thanksgiving called Paul's Place. The impressive organization, sense of selflessness amongst the staff and warming gratitude of those being helped really struck a chord.

Moreover, in researching charity: water and their target countries, I was reminded of the extreme poverty and deprivation of basic necessities that I had seen first-hand when traveling through Southeast Asia during the summer of 2007.

Obviously, any donations are appreciated with the sincerest of gratitude. $65 funds a BioSand Filter and serves an entire family with clean water for years to come. So should you feel like going above and beyond, there's a little knowledge of exactly what you'll be helping to provide.

100% of the money raised will go directly to water project costs, funding long-lasting clean water solutions in Cambodia. When the projects are finished, charity: water will show us the exact communities we've helped using photos and GPS coordinates.

I hope you are able to join me in some good ol' good doing. Happy Holidays to all!