There are 800 million people in the world living without access to clean water. Let's change that!

I've had a pretty good first 21 years on this Earth. I'm healthy, I'm surrounded by awesome people, and my life is ripe with opportunity.

But when it comes down to it, I can only attribute all of this to luck. I was lucky to be born into a well-off family. Lucky to be born in a great country. Even the success I might be tempted to attribute to my own diligence and personality — it is mere luck that I grew up in an environment that shaped me in such a way.

Some people aren't so lucky. Purely by chance, they don't even have access to clean water. And without this basic necessity, what opportunity is there for them? Millions of kids around the world don't live to see their fifth birthday because they don't have access to clean, safe drinking water. For these people, clean water is where a life of opportunity begins.

Sometimes when giving to charity, I find it hard to truly empathise with the people my money is going to. When we're constantly caught up in the intricacies of our own fast-paced technology-driven lives, it's hard to devote time and energy to thinking about these people, what it really means, and how to help them.

Luckily, organisations like charity: water exist to devote this time and energy for us. charity: water are one of my favourite charities because they make everything as transparent as the water they provide. Every cent of the money raised will directly fund clean water projects in developing countries, and then charity: water will show us exactly which projects we funded once they've been fully completed. Within 18 months, we'll know the locations and names of the communities we helped.

I'm asking for my age (or double my age) in dollars from everyone I know. I don't like birthday gifts because I haven't actually done anything to deserve them — it's just luck. Please give your money to people who do deserve it.