As a kid born on December 22nd, people always used to ask if I felt overshadowed by Christmas. I never did. I mean, I guess JC was a pretty cool dude and all, but he had the wrong idea turning water into wine. If I could, I'd turn it back.

The World Health Organization estimates that of the approximately-ten-million children under the age of 5 who die every single year, more than three million die from a lack of water or from waterborne diseases prevalent in unclean drinking water. In the developing world alone the figure is 24,000 children per day.

Those numbers are blindingly big. They're so big that your first reaction might be "wait, really?" Joseph Stalin (in)famously said "One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic". It's a pretty cynical thought, but every day that we allow complacency or apathy to hold us back from helping a stranger, we prove it true.

This year I turn 26. You'd be amazed at how much positive change can be wrought for $26. If you can't donate that much, donate $10, or $5, or $1. Donate an amount so small that you won't remember about it next week; someone in the world will remember.

This year I'm not asking for DVDs, new clothes, or gift cards. This year I'm asking you to help me recognize that every single death clean water could have prevented is a tragedy.