It's here. Year FIVE. Let's make it a good one.

For some of you, you’re thinking "Here we go again." For others, you just met me about a year ago or a little less, and have no idea that this is my FIFTH birthday I’ve given away to charity:water. You’re like “Whaaaat? What is this charity:water and why on earth should I be giving money to it? It’s not like I would even give this Sarah person a birthday gift anyways.”

charity:water is a company that gives 100% of all the funds you donate towards helping people build a well for fresh water in their village. 100%. ONE. HUNDRED. PERCENT. You’re not paying for some people in New York to refill their coffee mugs, turn their lights on, or to restock their paper trays. You are completely and transparently paying for some people you’ve never met to get clean water for the rest of their lives. You’re paying for people to have opportunities for clean health, get educations, get jobs, and provide for families. We, who can walk to the sink whenever we want and get water that won’t make us sick. Heck, we can drink water out of our toilets that is probably healthier than the water some people find in ponds around the world. Every single person in the world should get the opportunity to access clean water. Just because they were born someplace that didn’t become as technologically advanced as fast as we did, does not mean that their children deserve to die before the age of one at as fast of a rate as they do. This also isn't one of those "Westerners sweep in, take over everything, play God to the people, then ditch." charity:water makes it their mission to partner with the community, hiring villagers to learn to work the machines, learn to upkeep the area, and teach them about sanitation and health. They give the people skills and equipment they can keep and pass down to their children.

As some of you may know, I’ve deleted my Facebook. That means I’m enlisting anyone who read far enough down on this page. I’m enlisting you guys to help spread the word. I’ve emailed as many people as I have emails for, but please post the link to your own social media pages and encourage others to donate as well.

I want to thank each and every one of you for believing in what this company does. Some of you have donated in the past, and have seen the results of your donations. Others have never heard of this company. I encourage you to go to my past donation projects on my profile page, and click the links for the GPS maps to see just exactly where wells and sanitation units were built and to learn about the communities that have been impacted through these campaigns. In emails I sent, I included details of the projects my 18th, 17th, and 16th birthdays supported (my 19th birthday project has not been finished yet). This is year five for me, and I still believe in what this company does. Please consider donating even a little bit, and if you can or can’t, please spread the word.

I love you guys. I couldn’t ask for a better community of friends and family.

Sarah.