"You will discover that you have two hands. One is for helping yourself and the other is for helping others."
— Audrey Hepburn

As I turn another year older on May 8th, I am more than ever, grateful for the little things in life that so many people take for granted. It amazes me to think that while we live in a day and age of abundance, there are millions of people that don’t live to see their 5th birthdays because they don’t have access to one of the most basic needs of survival; clean and safe drinking water.

The fact is that most of us have never really been thirsty. We've never had to leave our houses and walk 5 miles to fetch water, water that is dirty and contaminated with deadly diseases. We simply turn on the tap or go to the store and buy it by the gallon or case. Yet one billion people on the planet don't have clean water. That’s 1 in 9 people.

My birthday wish this year is to give clean water to some of the billion people living without it. As I turn 31, I'm asking for $31 from everyone I know -- every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund clean water projects in developing nations. 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. Please join me to make this birthday count.

Peace and love always,
Fi