All,

My 30th birthday is almost here, and though I'm not usually excited about getting older, this year I am thankful to have lived another happy, healthy year. Rather than celebrating in the usual grand (and surely wasteful...) way, I am asking for my age in dollars from everyone I know for an incredibly important cause.

Nearly one billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean water, and the worst part is--the water they walk miles for can make them really sick. It’s shocking how a very little contribution can give a family or a village access to clean water, and it’s even more shocking how much it improves people’s lives—it stops sickness, stops children dying, let’s women go to school rather than spend their days carrying water. When I was introduced to charity: water, I was incredibly moved by the amount of good that can be done for people by simply giving them access to clean water.

Every penny, 100%--even credit card fees--of the money raised will directly fund clean water projects in developing countries. charity: water separately funds their operating costs through private donors, so truly 100% of the donation pool will go directly to people in need. Even better, charity: water will post info on this website on exactly which projects we’ve funded once they've been completed (which takes about 18 months, and you can access the info via a GPS locator on the project site!). That means we'll know the locations and names of the communities helped through this important effort.

I hope you will help me reach my goal to help at least 50 families get access to clean water, and make this birthday meaningful and memorable for so many more than just me.