In Shakopee, Minnesota, Mackenzie was about ready to turn 10 on April 18th, and her mom had sent out of bunch of invitations to her birthday party. Several days went by without any response from the parents of those who were invited. Mackenzie’s mom, Jenny, wondered if it was because her young daughter was afflicted with speech and learning difficulties.So she made a post to Facebook to those mothers of the children who were invited. She talked about how incredibly loving Mackenzie was and how she desperately wanted to have friends at school… and that she often plays alone on the playground at school.
Jenny went on to say, “As a mother, it is heartbreaking, you want your children to be happy. I’m reaching out to moms who have daughters between the ages of 9-11 that would love to come to a birthday party tomorrow from 11 to 1:30. You don’t have to bring gifts or stay long, just stop by and wish her a happy birthday.”
A short time after the message was posted, two girls’ moms messaged that they would be there. Then, Mackenzie’s mom’s message started being shared… a lot. It went viral. Channel 4 called her wanting to do a story on the birthday girl. Then Channel 9. As the story spread, Jenny was inundated with messages from people offering donations of food, entertainment, performers and gifts.
All of a sudden, well more than 100 children and adults had planned to attend Mackenzie’s party. But they did not have room for all those people. Then, the mayor himself contacted Jenny and offered space at one of the parks for her birthday. Perfect.
When Mackenzie’s birthday arrived, so did more than 500 people – young and old – to help her celebrate it in the park. All this because a loving mother asked for the simplest show of kindness from a few friends to her daughter on her birthday.