As many of you may know, I'll be turning 30 in a few day. I normally don't get very excited about another year gone, I am very happy about having experienced and seen all that I have in the previous year.

One of the trips that had the greatest impact on me and will linger in my memory for the lest of my life was the trip to Tanzania. Everyone sees the pleas from various NGOs showing living conditions in the developing world, asking for donations to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, house the homeless, and give water to the thirsty.

I'm sure many have wondered whether the images shown are true or just staged for the sake of eliciting donations. From what I have seen, these conditions are that bad, and images don't even do them justice. Seeing a picture of a child drinking a dirty cup of water is one thing. Seeing a child leading a child leading a canister laden mule to gather the day's worth of water is another.

And those are some of the lucky children with parents who can afford the mule. Those not so lucky push heavy carts through rough terrain on scorching hot days all by themselves.

This is why I am asking that this year, in celebrating my birthday, you donate $30 to help bring clean water to those in need.

Every penny of the money raised will directly fund clean water projects in developing countries. Even better, charity: water will show us exactly which projects we funded once they've been fully completed (which takes about 18 months). That means we'll know the locations and names of the communities we helped.

Help me reach my goal. Please donate to my birthday campaign!