Thousands of Christmas cards were sent to an autistic child whose Christmas wish was to receive cards from people from across the country help

Sean Stewart, a 10-year-old autistic child from Louisiana, hoped to get 1,000 Christmas cards in the mail this year, but by the generosity of many, many more, Sean’s dream was realized, and then some.

According to Time magazine, more than 3,500 people have thus far answered fourth grader Sean Stewart’s call. The response came after Sean’s mother sent out a heartfelt request on social media asking people to send him Christmas cards.

“We’re trying to keep up with the mail. It’s definitely going to surpass 5,000 before it’s over,” his mom Jennifer Robertson told the magazine. “It’s just been overwhelming. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that we’d be able to meet the goal.”

Pls send a card to Sean,a 10yo autistic boy who loves getting mail: Sean Stewart P.O. Box 359 Natchitoches, LA 71458 https://t.co/35Y8x0xhr8

— PeskyPippi (@PeskyPippi) December 11, 2015

Diagnosed with autism five years ago, Sean’s family learned he was losing his hearing last year, according to Robertson, a 42-year-old Natchitoches, Louisiana teacher. At this time last year, Sean received 450 Christmas cards. That’s when his mother decided to top that number this year.

The response to Sean’s request really took off after local television news stations in Louisiana shared Sean’s story.

“We’ve had people [send them] from California, Texas, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky,” Robertson says, with one letter coming from an Air Force captain based in Qatar.

“It just talks about how Sean’s so brave and an awesome young man, how he had been bullied when he was younger,” continued Robertson. “It’s extremely sweet. It’s just precious.”

After receiving piles of Christmas cards, burn survivor Safyre Terry gets Disney World trip https://t.co/pcDAtuSIsC pic.twitter.com/a7RggWLrwN

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) December 15, 2015

Sean has lovingly decided to give as well as receive. He wrote his own Christmas letter to Safyre Terry, who made a similar request after the 8-year-old New York girl was badly burned in an arson fire that killed her family. Safyre has received more than 430,000, according to the New York Times.

Safyre Terry shares video thanking internet for Christmas cards https://t.co/HwDS4272u7 pic.twitter.com/fNGBBO7eq6

— HuffPost Canada (@HuffPostCanada) December 16, 2015

“We want to share the love,” Robertson said. “He introduced himself and talks about how he hopes she gets better, how he’d like to be her friend.”

“I just think it’s wonderful that complete strangers want to do something so sweet and selfless, especially at this time of the year when there’s so much sadness,” she adds. “That’s what Christmas is about.”

For those who want to send a card to Sean, address them to:

Sean Stewart,
PO Box 359
Natchitoches, LA
71458