A 9-year-old boy from Indiana was stood up by his friends for his birthday party, but his grandmother made sure he got greeting cards from strangers all around the world.
Gerald celebrated his big day last weekend, on Saturday, but none of his invites showed up. He said he felt sad and disappointed.
His grandmother said Gerald has a disability, due to three major brain surgeries, and he often plays alone. However, when no one came to his party, she shared his story on Facebook. That led to thousands of shares and presents from strangers across the globe.
"Twelve classmates said that they would come to his party and 3 o'clock came and went, 4 o'clock came and went, 5 o'clock came and mom said 'we should cut the cake' and he said 'what if one of my friends come.' And none came. It's heartbreaking. He's just a kid who wants friends to play with," grandmother Amelia Lara said.
Lara's post was shared more than 2,000 times.