If you’re not familiar with Charity:Water, their website is here.

Basically, one young man volunteered some time in Africa and realized the problem of water in the world. He gave up his birthday one September and asked that, instead of gifts, people donate one dollar for every year of his life and they’d dig a well in Africa. The next year, more people got involved; the year after that, more people got involved; and the year after that, we got involved.

The September Campaign asks people who were born in September to give up their birthdays and ask for donations instead. I’m going to be 27 this year, but if you can’t give $27 that’s fine – give $2. Seriously. $2.

Here’s a video for this year’s campagin:
(By “your birthday,” it means “my birthday with your help.”)

It costs $5000 to build a well and supply an entire community with clean water. My birthday wish is $2000.

That’s $27 from 75 people. It will cover almost half of one well, and – statistically – provide 100 of the Bayaka people with clean, safe drinking water.

I don’t want gifts or cards for my birthday this year. I want water.

I want to know that there are 75 people in my life who have not been “weighed down by the cares of this life,” who understand that clean water is more important that shiny stuff. I want to know 75 people who are willing to skip one date night, fast one day, sell one piece of jewelry … to give one mother the confidence that her child will someday have a 27th birthday.

If you can’t do $27, give $2. It won’t get us to $2000, but if 75 people give something – anything – we’ll win.