Hello Everyone,

As I turn 30 this year, I really want to celebrate my milestone birthday in the most meaningful way. So…instead of wishing for gifts, I am donating my birthday to fund projects for Charity: Water.

Last year I had an opportunity to volunteer in a rural village in Nepal for 10 days, and it was such an unforgettable experience. Beyond teaching with language barriers and challenges with cooking over an earthen stove, what struck me the most was the difficulties accessing clean water. Never had I imagined life would be this difficult without water – the necessity that most of us take for granted. Each day there we walked an hour to bring back bucket of cleaner water, and barely bathed within our 10 days stay. However, this is not uncommon for those who live in rural areas of the developing nations. Most of them walk 2-4 hours each day to bring dirty water for the family. Lack of access to clean water not only causes deadly diseases, but hours spent on collecting water each day also keep so many young girls out of school.

Water is everything and access to clean and safe drinking water means health, education, and income – especially for women and children. Charity: Water’s mission is to solve global water crisis. I was inspired by the amazing story of how a former club promoter (founder of Charity: Water) fundraised on his birthday and created this charity to help undeveloped villages around the world get clean water. 100% of your donation goes directly toward water projects. When the projects are completed, Charity: Water will show us how every dollar we raised ended up helping in the field.

My goal is to raise $1,000 (It will give 33 people access to clean water), and anything you can give is a HUGE help! I truly feel that we are fortunate to have the privilege of helping those in need. I know that each of us can make a difference, and together we can make a change!

Thank you for your help!! :)

Shang