Janet Pan swaps presents for clean drinking water Janet Pan, who asked friends and family to donate to a water charity instead of giving presents for her 23rd birthday. She raised more than $1200, and made thankyou gifts for all those who donated. JANET Pan's greatest achievement last year wasn't finishing her degree, it was giving up her birthday for charity. The architecture graduate was so inspired by charity:water that she asked friends and family to donate instead of giving presents for her 23rd birthday in November. Charity:water provides clean drinking water for people in developing countries, where diseases from dirty water and unsanitary conditions kill more people every year than violence and war. Ms Pan stumbled across the charity's humanitarian work after reading Start Something That Matters, a book by TOMS Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie that referred to charity:water. "They use 100 per cent of their donations to help people in need, and they show you exactly where your money is going," she said. I'll get sent GPS co-ordinates and photos of where my donations were used in a clean water project. Ms Pan signed up to the charity's Birthday Project and pledged to raise money on her birthday. "It was really fulfilling and one of my best achievements in 2013," she said. I created a Facebook event and had a charity page and said, 'instead of buying me a drink in a club or getting me a present, just donate'. She was surprised when she passed her goal, and made a thank you gift out of reclaimed timber for every donor. "My original goal was my birth date, so $1112, but I ended up raising more than $1200 which will help 60 people," she said. Charity:water was started in 2006 by American entrepreneur Scott Harrison. Through the Birthday Project alone, it has raised nearly $9 million to fund clean water. <b><a href="http://www.charitywater.org">www.charitywater.org</a></b>