I'm very big about birthdays to me birthdays should always be celebrated because its one more year they are alive and its a blessing to breathe,love and cherish the moments we have with the people we love most.

I am greatful for my friends and family always being there for me on my birthday but this year I started thinking about how many people out there never even get to see a birthday because of something so simple WATER. We need water to survive and there are so many people out there that do not have clean water. Every day they drink the only thing they have DIRTY WATER for every sip thats taken in they get sicker and sicker. So this year, I'm giving my birthday up to help those to see another birthday to live another year.

I'm turning 22 years old and instead of asking for gifts, I'm asking for $ 22 or more from everyone I know. It's not going to me, though. All of it is going to build freshwater projects for people in developing countries.

Almost a billion people in the world are living without clean water -- but how much are they really living? Millions contract deadly diseases from contaminated water. 30,000 people will die this week alone. The lucky ones won't, but still have to walk hours each day to get dirty water for their families.

My birthday wish this year is not for more gifts I don't need; it's to give clean and safe drinking water to some of the billion people living without it. I want to make my birthday matter this year.

The best part: 100% of all donations go directly toward water projects. And about 18 months after this campaign ends, charity: water will show us where and how every dollar we raised ended up helping in the field. We'll see GPS coordinates, photos and more details about the communities we've impacted.

Please join me.