An emotional appeal not to let an autistic teenager mark another birthday on her own has hit the hearts of thousands of people.
A picture of Hallee Sorenson eating her birthday cake alone on her 18th was posted on Facebook by her cousin Rebecca Lyn.
In the post, Rebecca explained that Hallee, from Maine, USA, had excitedly booked a day of bowling and ice cream to celebrate her milestone event but, despite sending invitations to friends and classmates, no-one turned up.
As a result, Rebecca put out a call for people to make sure this year’s birthday, in July, doesn’t go the same way
“Everyone please read: I need a favour”, Rebecca wrote. “This is my cousin Hallee. I’d like to tell you a little bit about her…
“First off, she is a beautiful young woman-both inside and out. She lights up a room with her smile. Hallee is funny, sweet, caring, smart, an athlete, a jigsaw puzzle champion, a wonderful student, and a best friend to all. Hallee 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. 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. Invitations went out to her classmates at school and to other friends in the area. 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. Below is the 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…
“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.”
The bid to make Hallee’s 19th birthday a special one has been shared more than 180,000 times, with people pledging to send her everything from jewellery to t-shirts.
If you would like to send Hallee a card for her birthday, you can post it to: Hallee Sorenson, 34 Wellesley Way, Bangor, ME USA 04401.