Most years, our birthdays have been about stuff. Things like video games or new clothes. And while those things are nice, this year we want to have our birthdays be truly meaningful and memorable.

So this year, both Hilary and I are giving our birthdays up.

We're both turning 33 years old, and instead of asking for gifts, we're asking for $33 (or any other amount big or small) from friends and family everywhere. It's not going to us, though. All of it is going to build freshwater wells for people who today don't have clean water.

About 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.

Our birthday wish this year is not for more gifts for ourselves; rather, it's to give clean and safe drinking water to a village currently living without it.

Please join us.

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

Thanks everyone!