UPDATE - Less than 12 hours after launching, we've hit over $500! Thank you all so much for your support. I'm upping the ante to $1,000.

------------

HI FRIENDS!!

It's my 30th birthday and I want your money! But instead of getting something for me, I want you to help me reach my goal of raising $1,000 for charity: water.

There are A LOT of causes to support these days, I KNOW, but I've been donating to charity: water since they began many years ago because water is a fundamental human right that many people on this earth don't have access to.

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 was a wee young boy (see profile photo above), I never had to question whether my water was safe to drink.

But many people around the world don’t have that luxury. 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.

I started this fundraising campaign to help charity: water build these types of projects around the world and I'm depending on you to help me meet my goal. I'm forgoing presents this year, even wine (gasp), to support this cause and I'm contributing $100 of my own money to get the campaign started.

I encourage you to read charity: water's blog, especially these two stories, to learn more about their amazing work:

https://www.charitywater.org/projects/stories/meet-jean-bosco/

http://blog.charitywater.org/post/144113137387/four-days-in-ethiopia

Please donate to my campaign -- anything you can give is a huge help. I've believed in charity: water's mission since they began and they are rated highly on Charity Navigator, so if you have anything you can contribute at all, I will be eternally grateful!

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.

Cheers and THANK YOU!