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Boy with autism receives 20,000 cards from strangers
A boy with autism has received thousands of birthday cards from strangers around the world after his mum mad an online appeal.
Karen Jones, of Plymouth, England, was devastated when she found out her son, Ollie Jones, who turned 15 on the weekend, had been writing cards to himself, believing those would be the only cards he would receive.
Four days before Ollie’s birthday, she turned to a local community group on Facebook appealing for people to send Ollie some cards.
"He loves opening cards to [the] extent he's made himself a couple," she wrote.
"We are a small family and he has no friends so gets very few.
"If you have an old one at the back of the cupboard maybe you could send it to him?"
The cards soon came flooding in, with a whopping 20,000 cards received wishing Ollie the happiest of birthdays.
"People keep asking for numbers that arrived! Let's just say it's more than the 20 or so I hoped for," she said.
"[He] tried to open cards to make room for more but hardly made a dent!"
How does the birthday boy feel about all this? He’s ecstatic and feeling quite “famous”.
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"No one gives me birthday cards, just me," Ollie told the Plymouth Herald.
"It's fab, amazing and fun — but not so many next year please."
Karen thanked all the strangers from around the world for making Ollie’s birthday.
"Some people might think it's just a card — but to us it's massive. Sending cards can bring so much joy.
“All I can say is thank you, the kindness, love and goodwill of everyone has been phenomenal.”
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