Man receives 30,000 birthday cards after family appeal

Manuel Parisseaux Credit: Lucien Parisseaux/Facebook

A French man with Down's syndrome received more than 30,000 birthday cards from around the world after his father's post on Facebook went viral.

Lucien Parisseaux appealed to his friends to send his son Manuel postcards to celebrate his 30th birthday and to pass the request on to friends.

But he did not expect the appeal to go worldwide.

Mr Parisseaux wrote on Facebook: "Hello everyone. I have a request to make to all my Facebook friends. My son Manuel will be 30 on 11/22/14 and he loves to receive postcards. My son has Down's syndrome.

"I come to you to ask you to take a few minutes of your time to send a small card and to pass this information to all your friends so the chain doesn't get broken. I thank you all for your gesture, which will make my Manu so happy."

A fortnight later, some 15,000 cards had arrived for Manuel - and they kept coming, from around the world.

By the time Manuel celebrated his birthday, the post had been shared more than 121,000 times, with cards and presents arriving from well-wishers from as far a field as Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

The postal service had to use a lorry to deliver the mountain of envelopes and parcels sent to the family's home in Calais.

The interest was such that Facebook temporarily suspended Lucien's page believing it to be an advertising scam.

His mother Jacqueline created a new page under her maiden name so the chain could continue.

She wrote: "Some people think that this is not true, that there is a scam I confirm to you that no, this is a real chain of solidarity, I am his mother."

Thanking people for their support, Mrs Parisseaux told local newspaper La Voix du Nord: "We would never have imagined the extent that it could have taken a few days after an ordinary message on the net.

"We are surprised by this outpouring of generosity, support messages, kindly encouragement. The world is not indifferent."

  • Earlier this year a terminally ill boyreceived nearly 100,000 birthday cards following an appeal by his mother in Boston, Massachusetts.