So on April 28th I’m turning 33 years old & one more step closer to getting my AARP card, aluminum walker, investing in bulk denture & hemroid cream & ultimately becoming a crotchety old fart. Oh Joy!

Honestly, there’s a part of me that’s incredibly surprised I’ve made it this far relatively intact. Through all my ups & downs, failures & successes one thing has been made crystal clear to me & that’s how much I’ve been incredibly blessed beyond belief. I’ve an amazing family that’s guides & supports me unconditionally, incredible friends that have stood beside me through thick & thin, a terrific career, good health & endless opportunities to improve my future. I’ve come so far because of all your love & unshakeable support. I don’t know how I could ever truly express how lucky I feel. So this year I want to show my appreciation & pay these blessing forward by giving something very basic we take for granted to those who need it more than I need another birthday party.

Nearly 1 billion people around the world live without our luxury of clean, safe, drinking water. They walk for miles carrying buckets & jerry cans to ponds, puddles & bacteria infested cesspools to gather water to live off of. Imagine for a minute that the only water you had access to was miles away & almost certainly going to make you sick; perhaps even kill you & the only alternative is to suffer dehydration & ultimately meet the same painful end. If you’ve ever suffered diarrhea, malaria or dehydration then you know how uncomfortable it can be. Now pretend that’s something you’ll have to risk having every single day. This is a fact of life for many people that chills me to the bone.

A couple years ago my church partnered with charity: water to raise awareness about this global crisis. We threw parties, fundraisers & started many different kinds of campaigns raising hundreds of thousands of dollars, bringing clean water to thousands of people in 3rd world countries. I ask that this year for my birthday everyone join me in donating at least $33 to help bring clean water to more even more people & give others a chance to reach their 33rd birthday healthy, hydrated & happy. I set my goal at $5,000 which will give water to 250 people. I’d love to crush that number & bring water to even more. Let’s come together & make it rain for my birthday.

Please check out the charity: water website to learn more. You can also see more videos at http://www.youtube.com/charity:water.

Thank you,

Chris