Hi everyone, and thank you so much for all the birthday wishes! 26 is my lucky number and this past year has been the most enriching year yet! So now I have the sobering acknowledgment that 27 makes me uncomfortably close to 30, but it's going to be great! I also am finally graduating this week after being in college since 2009! It's been a long time coming and I'm so ready to wrap this chapter up in my life.

So here's the thing, instead of doing a birthday or graduation party, I'm finally opening up a Charity:Water campaign, and I'd love if you could contribute to helping providing clean water to the over 600 million people who still do not have access. Yes I'm graduating with some student loans, but the thing is I have the capacity to shave a lot of that down right away and have means of setting a course to pay off all my debt in considerable fashion. I do not need support; while your support is beneficial and can reduce my current strain, I will move forward with the resources at my disposal. These people on the other hand do not have the infrastructure or the resources to make meaningful investments for future growth, so I'm willing to remove a convenience for myself if it can provide something essential like first-time access to clean drinking water.

If you haven't heard of Charity: Water before, just know that they are an incredible organization who set the standard for innovation and transparency in the humanitarian and nonprofit world. The money is fully traceable and we will be able to see exactly where that money went and what its impact will be. Charity: Water does not have to retain a portion of the donations for marketing or payroll since that is already being fully funded by a separate group of donors, so 100% of the donation will go straight into the field towards the production of access to clean water in rural villages throughout the world.