By Trey Mewes, staff writer

As Michael Lindahl sat in the foyer of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Michael Olmsted, the church’s youth pastor, slipped him an envelope.

“Happy birthday, man,” Olmsted said.

Lindahl has plenty of reason to be happy. What started as a charity idea has morphed into two fundraisers to bring water to developing companies. Instead of accepting gifts this year, he’s asking people to donate to Charity: Water, a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving people in developing countries clean drinking water.

“If we were walking miles to get water in America, it’d be unheard of,” Lindahl said.

Lindahl first heard about Charity: Water last year. He knew he wanted to give money to the organization once he realized it built wells for people with no readily available drinking water.

The charity also documents which wells are built with donations of $5,000 or more, which is about the cost of building a well. Any money Charity: Water receives goes directly into well projects instead of the charity itself, according to Charity: Water’s website.

Around the same time, Lindahl learned about a new fundraising idea. He’d heard about people asking family and friends to donate money to causes for their birthday instead of buying presents. He immediately liked the idea.

Once he told his friends about it, his fellow high school students decided to make Charity: Water the official charity of Austin High School’s charity week fundraiser in December.

The student groups currently have about $4,500, but another $500 is expected to come from Student Council, which means AHS reached its goal.

“When I started in November, I was like, ‘Mom, dad, what do you think about $5,000? Is that a little farfetched?’ and they’re like, ‘Yeah, maybe like $1,000,’” Lindahl said.