Because we were fortunate enough to be born in the United States, we've lived all our lives with access to as much clean water as our hearts desire.

As we celebrate Vickie's 50th birthday in October, we wanted to do something that would make a difference to others who don't have that blessing of abundance.

You probably don't spend too much time thinking about water - it's everywhere we go. When we're thirsty, we flip a handle or push a button. When we're dirty, we twist a shower knob. When our garden needs watering, when our pasta needs to be boiled, when we use the bathroom -- water is just there for the taking.

But for a billion people on the planet, it's not. Millions of women and children have to walk hours each day to get water from muddy ponds and rivers. And much of that water is infested with parasites and leeches. In fact, 80% of all diseases in the world are caused by unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation. 90% of the 42,000 deaths that occur every week from unsafe water and unhygienic living conditions are to children under 5 years old.

A cool thing about charity:water's unique model, 100% of all donations go directly to fund freshwater well projects AND each donation is "proved" and tracked to the village it helped when projects are complete and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth.

Together, we can make a dent in the global water crisis. We hope you will consider donating to this campaign. It will make a difference in the lives of some of God's children who aren't nearly as blessed as we are just because of where we were born.

And if money is not your gift, please bless these people with your prayers to God for their well-being, peace and good health.

Also if you feel so inclined, please share this information with at least ten of your contacts/friends/family and help us get the word out.

Thank you for considering this request and may God bless you as He has blessed us,

Love, Brian and Vickie