In my 32 years, I've been a pretty lucky person. I was lucky enough to be born where the basic necessities of life – food, water, clothing, shelter – were something I never had to think about. Even at times when my health had seen better days and my immune system was my arch nemesis, I was lucky enough to have a job with insurance to help pay for the highly modern medicine and medical technology that ultimately allowed me to have my last seven birthdays.

This is why it's so devastating to me that something so simple such as access to clean water is a struggle for nearly a billion people on a daily basis. The video to your right will explain the current water situation for millions of people in developing countries and the inherent dangers that obtaining water holds.

It's a heartbreaking crisis, but hope comes from understanding just how incredibly fixable this situation is. This is why I've chosen to donate my birthday to Charity: water. and am encouraging my friends and family to help me help make a difference.

Please join me in raising $5,000 to help build water projects in developing nations so that 250 people who weren't born with the same luck as I was can have a taste of what it's like.