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Social Media Helps Christmas Wish Come True For NY Man With Down Syndrome

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - A tidal wave of kindness reached a man with Down syndrome in upstate New York for the Christmas holiday.

As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported, the mother of 25-year-old Elliot Shirback reached out via social media to make her son's wish come true.

The effort shows a sure sign of the power of social media and of Christmas spirit.

Shirback has received a Christmas card from nearly every state in the U.S.

"He was sad one day. All I wanted to do was uplift him and I said 'Elliot, what is it you want for Christmas this year?' He went, 'I just want some cards, Mom. Some Christmas cards,'" Anne Daggett said.

Last Wednesday, friends and family posted the request on Facebook.

"Within a day, it was reposted from mine at least 25, 26 times," Daggett said.

By Monday, Shirback received more than 600 cards - most of them from strangers.

"It makes me happy inside of me. It's like a gift, like somebody loves and cares about you," he said.

But the mailman wasn't finished with his deliveries just yet.

Another 300 hundred cards were in a tray delivered Monday afternoon, bringing Elliot's total card count as of Christmas morning to more than 1,800.

Now if there's ever any doubt of the Christmas spirit, Elliot knows where to turn.

When Shirback's mom first sent out the Facebook request, he only wanted 100 cards.

She expected to get only about 35.

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