I'M GIVING UP MY BIRTHDAY!!<br>Why? Not because I'm getting old and don't want to be reminded or don't like birthdays. On the contrary, I love birthdays. Everyone should celebrate their birthday to the max. And I truly believe age is only a number.<br>But this year I want to celebrate in a different way. I want to build a well. I know, "HUH?!!"<br>Not in my back yard... In Rwanda.<br>Over 800 million people on our planet live without clean, safe drinking water. Their water is so filthy that it's causing diseases that should have disappeared centuries ago. Babies are drinking water that looks like mud. It's filled with parasites, worms and God only knows what. It's a sad reality and the irony is that clean and safe drinking water is sometimes as near as 60 feet below the surface in the villages where these unfortunate people live. But they don't have the knowledge or the means to get to it.<br>So before you start thinking I'm getting all preachy and am getting on some soap box I just ask that you check out this web site: www.mycharitywater.org<br>For my birthday I'm asking those of you that would send me a gift to instead send a donation to MyCharityWater.org. It would be great if you could donate my age in dollars; which this birthday would be $59. But for those of you that this amount is too much; any donation will help. <br>It only costs $5000 to build a well to provide clean water for a whole village. If a hundred of my friends and family donate my age in dollars it will be more than enough to build a well. <br>Or if you usually send me a card for my birthday, instead send the cost of the card and postage to MyCarityWater.org. For those of you that would send me a birthday wish via Facebook or email, if you would also donate a $1 of $5 or $10 to MyCharityWater.org also we can build a well together.<br>Many of you have asked me to donate to your causes and I have done so. So please return the favor and help me build a well. <br>Every penny you donate goes directly to the construction of the clean water project. No money goes to administrative costs. Plus the really cool thing is when the well is complete, MyCharityWater will send you photos and GPS link for you to see the finished product and the community you helped. Check out the web site for details.<br>I have been very fortunate. I don't need gifts and the best birthday present you can give me is to support me as I give up my birthday to build a well. I plan to continue to do this every year. My Mom is 96 yrs old so with that track record I may be able to build enough wells in my lifetime to end the diseases that are rampant in Rwanda and other regions in the world.<br>Please help me GIVE UP MY BIRTHDAY by donating my age in dollars to:<br>MyCharityWater.org/birthday<br>