One girl will get no shortage of season's greetings this year, thanks to kind people across the Internet who want her to feel loved.
Safyre Terry's father, sister and two brothers died in a fire started by an arsonist in 2013. The 8-year-old, who suffered burns on over 75 percent of her body and lost her right hand and left foot from the fire, currently lives with her aunt and legal guardian, Liz Dodler, and her family in Rotterdam, New York, BuzzFeed reported.
Dodler recently bought a Christmas card holder shaped like a tree, and Safyre said she couldn't wait to fill it up. After she posted a photo of Safyre and the card holder, family friend Kevin Clark felt compelled to make the girl's wish come true and show her that while she's unable to be with her immediate family, Safyre has plenty of people who care about her. So, he sent out a call on Facebook last week, asking people to send Christmas cards to the 8-year-old, Today.com reported.
People shared the message on social media, and though it's only been a few days, Safyre has already received about 27 cards from people who want her to have a merry Christmas, according to a Facebook page dedicated to the child.
"Only if words could describe the joy, the twinkle in her eye, the sparkle in her smile," Dodler told The Huffington Post of the 8-year-old's reaction to the cards she's been receiving. "She can't believe it."
The aunt told Buzzfeed News that the Christmas card holder has 100 slots, so when Safyre said she couldn't wait for all the slots to be filled, Dodler didn't want her niece to get her hopes up.
"My response was 'Hunny, that’s probably not gonna happen. We maybe get 10 cards a year, and the card tree holds 100,'" Dodler said.
But all of that changed after Clark saw the picture Dodler posted and asked if he could share it on Facebook in hopes of moving people to send the girl cards. Dodler told HuffPost the experience has been incredible and many more cards are expected to reach Safyre soon.
Safyre, who was the sole survivor in the fire, has undergone more than 50 surgeries, however despite all the challenges, she's remained strong.
"Safyre lost everything -- her father, her mother, her sister, her brothers, her home, her favorite toy, her favorite outfit -- everything that was familiar to her," Dolder told Today.com. "She even lost the one thing we all take for granted -- her reflection. But she wakes every morning with a smile on her face. She is the true definition of hope, faith and love."
To send Safyre a card, mail your letter to the following address:
Safyre
P.O. Box 6126
Schenectady NY 12306
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