Online strangers help out mom who had to sew manta ray plushie for son’s birthday

• Tiffany Holloway couldn’t afford a stuffed manta ray for her son’s 5th birthday, so she handmade one herself out of his old baby blanket.
• When she shared her simple creation on Reddit, hundreds of online strangers started sending them dozens of sea creature plushies.
• Some even sponsored tickets to the zoo so that her sons could see and touch real stingrays!

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When a mom from Oklahoma shared a simple story of how she sewed a stuffed manta ray for her son’s birthday, she did not expect an outpour of support from dozens of strangers.

Tiffany Holloway, mom of four, shared her handmade creation on Reddit. She said that her son had wanted a stuffed toy of her favorite animal, the manta ray, for his 5th birthday. But she couldn’t afford to purchase one, so she handmade one herself out of his old baby blanket.

My son wanted a stuffed manta ray for his 5th birthday but I didn’t have money to buy one, so instead I converted his old baby blanket into one! (Hand sewn)
by inpovertyfinance

Her story touched hundreds of readers. Soon enough, Jason started receiving several birthday gifts: stuffed toys of manta rays, squids, and other ocean creatures!

With so many stuffed sea creatures, Jason barely had any room on his bed! Still, he loves sleeping and cuddling with all of them.

A few days ago I posted on Reddit on how I had to make my son a manta ray because I couldn’t afford to buy one for his birthday. Reddit decided to make my son’s birthday the best one ever.
by in Eyebleach

Jason soon received another surprise when one Redditor, who chose to remain anonymous, arranged for his family’s visit to the Blue Zoo.

The anonymous donor got them a $100 gift card for their admission. Jonas, who hails Steve Irwin as his hero, got to see and touch real stingrays!

Another Redditor, Jennifer Prokop (who goes by the username YarntYouSweet), also bought Tiffany and her four boys tickets to the Oklahoma City Zoo that allowed them to feed the stingrays.

Tiffany said that the boys loved the pool so much that they stayed for more than an hour.

She said that the best part was seeing Jonas’s smile. She explained in an email, “Me and my son are domestic violence survivors, and Jonas is a child that rarely smiles because of all the trauma he’s been through. This outpouring of love and kindness has brought an oh-so-rare smile to his face — and that is worth more to me than anything else.”

The touching interaction led to a friendship between Tiffany and Jennifer.

Jennifer also started a GoFundMe campaign to help provide financial support to Tiffany and her sons.

Tiffany plans to use the current spotlight on her family to highlight the conservation group Manta Trust, which rescues and rehabilitates the graceful sea creatures.

She added that the outpour of support served as a reminder that there are still good people in the world — that even when her family is struggling, they are never truly alone.

Share this story to spread kindness and positivity.

Source: Good News Network