I live a privileged life. I have a wonderful family who provided for all of my needs. I was able to go to college and with my parent's support pay off my student loans. I live in a safe community with my husband and have a reliable car to drive to work everyday.

We take so many things for granted in our lives. Many of us have no idea what it's like to be thirsty. We have plenty of water to drink -- even the water in our toilets is clean! When I recently had some issues with our well water and plumbing I got the tiniest glimpse of what life is like without running water. I felt self-conscious about whether people would notice I hadn't showered in a few days, had to pour buckets to flush my toilet, and rinse my toothpaste out with my water bottle. These seem like small trifles when you think about people who don't have the luxury of water in their home at all. While we were able to make repairs quickly, millions of people in the world don't have any clean water or the funds to repair or create new wells. As a result, about 1,400 children die every day 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.

I started this fundraising campaign to help charity: water build these types of projects around the world, and I'm looking for anyone who can help me.

I don't need anything for my birthday. What you can do is donate to this campaign and help others around the world rise up, be healthier and lead more productive lives. Instead of spending hours walking to retrieve dirty water to survive, they can spend their time in school, start small businesses, or grow crops.

I ask anyone who can to consider giving $31 to correspond with my age, but if you can do more that is very appreciated. Even the smallest amount will help to reach this goal and impact another person's life.

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.

This campaign goes until March 31st. Due to the generosity of my swing dance family, on March 15th all of the at-the-door proceeds for our Thursday Night Swing Dance (the longest running in Albany at over 15 years) will be donated to this cause. Come out to support us and make my birthday impact others all over the world. We can do this!