Hey friends! My campaign through @charitywater is live. I've called it '22nd for 22' because my $675 goal will bring water to 22 people for a lifetime (a lifetime! not just for a day, or a month, or a year, but indefinitely).

Many of you have asked my heart behind this, and the following is the best I can put it:

Every day, about 1,400 children die from diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation. 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.

Also, if you didn't already know, most of the time it's up to the women to get water while the men tend the fields or work. In this case families need as much water as they can get, and that often involves 8+ hours of searching for water. Since they need as much as possible, girls are pulled out of schools. In addition, the girls who do go to school, end up missing about a week or more each month because they don't have the means (the water) to take care of their bodies — which puts them at an extreme disadvantage to their male peers.

I really don't like that this is happening and I want the best for these people. I think it's important that something as simple as water is provided to improve the lives of these people — and especially these girls and women.

I'm asking that instead of any gifts you might get me this year, that instead you give $22 (a dollar for each year I've lived) to charity: water. Of course, you can give whatever you are able if $22 is above your means.

100% of the money will be used to build clean water projects, and when they’re complete, charity: water will send us photos and GPS coordinates so we can see the exact community we helped.