A few weeks ago WLTX reported a story about a local boy named Jamel Nichols. That story went viral and because of it Insider did a feature story on Jamel!
Jamel's mom, Zenas says "Unfortunately Jamel's friends at school just bailed on him at the last moment. We were going from house to house and I was speaking with parents, and unfortunately, no one was able to attend. So I just thought that I'd reach out to the community, so I made the post on Facebook."
She posted; “So my son is having a slime obstacle course party tomorrow but all of his classmates bailed. Would anyone be willing to come show him some support?” Her post sparked quite a reaction, garnering over 100 responses and leading to an unexpected crowd showing up to Jamel's birthday bash.
Among the attendees was Ashley Berendzen, who jumped at an opportunity for her children to get some valuable social experience, especially given one of her sons has autism. "Everyone at this party was so friendly and warm and inviting," she says. The grateful birthday boy was overjoyed at the turnout and thanked the attendees, saying, "You could have been somewhere else, you could have been doing what you wanted to do but instead, you came to my party, so thank you." What could have been a disappointing day for Jamel turned out to be a celebration he’ll never forget.
Jamel wrapped up the party with a heartfelt speech. "Thank you and thank you for supporting me, and for coming out. You could have been somewhere else, you could have been doing what you wanted to do but instead, you came to my party, so thank you,"