Friends, family, and kind strangers:

I've always had amazing birthdays. Let me recap the past six for you. For my 16th, my family threw me a huge party, gave me a new car, and about everything else I asked for. My 17th was my golden birthday celebrated with great friends. I graduated high school on my 18th. My family threw me a surprise party for my 19th. On my 20th, my birthday was combined with my China going away party. And my 21st was filled with beautiful friends who made my day so special that I'm still squealing about it. My family also put together a massive dinner that included all of my favorite people.

That's just the past six birthdays. For the past 22 years, my birthdays have been all about me. This year, that changes.

I’m asking all my friends and family to donate to charity: water and give clean water to people who need it, instead of giving me gifts.

Did you know that almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water? 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.

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.

Help me make this birthday my best ever -- donate to my campaign!