For those of you who know me, you know I love water. In fact, I probably drink triple the amount of water the average person drinks daily. I carry around Smart Water or Dasani water bottles all day, everyday. When I am thirsty, I walk to my sink and fill my water bottle with cold/clean water. This process takes approximately 30 seconds and then I am able to return to whatever task is at hand.

But what if it wasn't this way? What if I had to walk 3 hours daily to fill up my jug and the water wasn't even clean? What if the water was DEADLY to my body but I had to drink it or I would die from dehydration? These are not what if's for almost a billion people in the world; this is reality.

Every day, 5,000 kids die from water-related illnesses before they reach their fifth birthday. But it doesn't have to be that way. There are simple solutions like drilled wells, spring protections and BioSand filters that help provide clean water to communities around the world.

I am asking you to join me in donating to this wonderful cause. I will turn 19 on October 12, 2013. Please help me reach my goal of $3,250 to help 50 people drink clean water by donating my age in dollars. All I need is 171 people to donate $19 and we can reach the goal. You may ask: Do you benefit from reaching this goal? Yes, I do. I get to feel the satisfaction of knowing I helped 50 people receive clean water. Other than that, I do not receive anything.

Also, 100% of every dollar you donate to my birthday campaign will be used to build clean water projects in developing countries. charity: water funds their operating costs separately through a group of private donors, so 100% of all public donations will go directly to people in need.

To jumpstart this campaign, I have donated $100 of my own money to the campaign. Charity: water will show us exactly which projects we funded once they've been fully completed (which takes about 18 months). That means we'll know the locations and names of the communities we helped.

Please help me make this a memorable birthday by donating to the campaign!