THOUSANDS of people have pledged their support after a heartbreaking photo of an autistic teen sitting alone on her 18th birthday party was posted online.
Rebecca Lyn, of Oxford, Massachusetts, took and shared a tear-jerking picture of her cousin Hallee Sorenson on Facebook showing her celebrating her milestone birthday all by herself last year – because none of her friends turned up to her party.
Now, kind-hearted Rebecca wants to give Hallee a birthday to remember when she turns 19 next month, so she launched an appeal asking people to send her a birthday card.
She wrote: “Hallee is funny, sweet, caring, smart, an athlete, a jigsaw puzzle champion, a wonderful student, and a best friend to all."
“She is an amazing person-a person I am proud to be related to. She is also a person who just happens to have Autism.
“She has never let that small detail define who she is as a person-which is why I refuse to use it as something to describe her.
“She had been so excited to have a party with her friends. She wanted to go bowling, have fun, and eat cake and ice cream."
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Rebecca explained that invitations went out to her classmates at school and to other friends in the area last year.
She added: "Hallee sat at her party anxiously waiting for her friends to arrive so they could have fun….but Hallee's friends would never arrive. Not a single one.
“Here is a picture of her celebrating alone – eating her birthday cake. My cousin is a beautiful young woman who will always have the mind of a child…so as you can imagine, she was heartbroken and beyond sad. She was hurt…”
The appeal
"This year we are having a large family party for her. But you can help make this year’s birthday incredible!!
"I would love to flood her mailbox with birthday cards, from all over! Hal loves getting mail- this would be the best birthday gift she could ask for."
In the post, she provided an address:
Hallee Sorenson
34 Wellesley Way
Bangor, ME 04401
The Facebook post has since touched the hearts of thousands online and has been shared more than 136,000 times with many users commenting to say they want to send her gifts too.
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