All of my birthdays have always been about stuff. Stuff I might want, but stuff I definitely don't need. And to be honest, I hardly even remember what I got last year.

So this year, I'm giving my birthday up.

I'm turning 32 years old, and instead of asking for gifts, I'm asking for $10 or more from everyone I know. It's not going to me, though. All of it is going to build freshwater wells for people in developing nations.

A billion people in the world are living without clean water - but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 45,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won't, but still walk hours each day to get dirty water to give to their families.

It is so burdening to me to think about the fact that the water in my toilet and in my washing machine and in my sink is much, much cleaner than all the water some people in this world will ever see, much less drink or bathe their babies in.

Please give me what I want this year.

please note: Because of charity: water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to direct water projects costs, and each donation is "proved" and tracked to the village it helped when projects are complete.