Local teen asks for 1,000 cards to celebrate 16th birthday
PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WXXV)- The community is coming together to support a local teen who has an interesting goal for his birthday.
Grayson Richardson turns 16 and he only had one wish: to receive 1,000 birthday cards.
Grayson reached that goal Tuesday, but he’s not stopping there. Aubrey Spears spoke with Grayson and his mom Karly about what the support means to them.
Most teens want the latest gaming system, newest phone, or even a car, but for Grayson Richardson, he has something else on his birthday wish list this year.
Grayson, who has down syndrome, is like any other teenager. He loves his mom and family, basketball, chicken nuggets, and dancing but his mom, Karly, says he never really asks for anything. “When I started posting on his Instagram, just to get awareness about down syndrome and people that have Down syndrome, I did a video of him saying how cool it would be if his followers sent him birthday cards because his birthday was coming up, and then I asked him how many he thinks he would get, and he came out right away with 1000.”
So, that was the goal.
It’s people like Adam Swedenburg who have helped get the word out. Swedenburg took to social media to bring attention to Grayson’s goal. Swedenburg took to social media to bring attention to Grayson’s goal. “The reason that I got behind it is because Grayson just loves making people happy. He’s always bringing laughter, he’s always bringing joy wherever he goes, every room, every video he posts, wherever he’s at, he’s always bringing joy to others, and I was like, you know, what a simple way to bring joy back to somebody that always makes everybody around him so joyful.”
Karly says the support has been mind-blowing. Cards and birthday wishes are pouring in from all over: the Coast, Canada, Germany, and Alaska. “He reads through every single one, and he gets so excited, especially if he knows the person, but he is reading every single one.”
Swedenburg says it’s easy to do. It’s a simple card with a big impact. “Whether you buy a card, make a card, for example, my family is a household of three, it’s me, my wife, and my son, and so each person in our household is doing a card and sending Grayson a card. So, get creative with it, have fun with it, and if you’re a household of 2,3,4, get each person in your household to do a card, so that we can get that goal of 1000 and I think we can be able to surpass that and get 2000 even.”
“Thank you and I love it. I love it so much. My mom is an awesome mother of me!”
