Idaho kid Christian Larsen begged his mother to throw him a ninth birthday party so he could invite all of his friends. Finally, she gave in, sending out invitations. But only one person RSVP’d. Christian, who has autism, attends Hillsdale Elementary in Meridian, Idaho. Mom posted on Facebook about the lack of responses, and her friend Blythe Ben-David stepped in to make a birthday miracle happen. Ben-David lives in South Texas, far from the Larsen family. She couldn’t be there for the party, so she reached out to Dan Holtry, a family friend and the football coach at Nampa High School in Idaho.
… When Ben-David in Texas asked Holtry up in Idaho whether he could help, he immediately agreed and and got Holtry’s football players involved. The players jumped at the opportunity to celebrate with 9-year-old Christian. Within seconds of a sent text they were 100 percent in. When Christian’s party rolled around (on June 4), a few classmates, some children from the neighborhood and some family friends showed up. Christian was running around and having a good time when the surprise guests arrived. Coach Holtry and his players showed up chanting his name.