One community pulled together to give a disabled 21-year-old a birthday surprise

When her son Matthew was turning 21,  Indiana mom Kim Davis-Robinette knew she wanted to go all out to celebrate his milestone birthday. Matthew has a brain malformation and cerebral palsy and is on the autism spectrum. He can’t talk or move around on his own. Although a traditional, booze-soaked party would not be appropriate for Matthew, Kim was determined to make her son’s birthday extra special.

Because Matthew love parades, Kim asked her friends and neighbors via Facebook to drive by their house on Matthew’s birthday and honk their horns to give her son his own personal parade on his big day.

People took the request seriously and went way above and beyond just hoking their horns. They went all out and put on a bona fide parade in honor of Matthew’s milestone birthday. And it wasn’t just Kim’s friends and family who joined the effort. After her post was shared more than 1,500 times, people from as far away as Washington and Texas made the trek to Indiana to help pull off the sweet surprise.

“It’s been overwhelming, the response,” Kim told Fox 59. “Since he can’t go out, we thought we’d just bring the party to him.”

And bring the party, they did! Lasting more than an hour and a half, the parade included police officers, firefighters, school buses, ambulances and even a marching band. Check out the shots of the parade on Facebook below:

‘

Although Matthew could not express his gratitude verbally, Kim says his smile said it all. “It was just about people showing their love,” Kim said. “When the people see the smile on his face, they’re going to get that love right back.”

People who participated in the parade chimed in on Facebook to let Kim know that the experience was just as awesome for them as it was for Matthew:

“It was an honor to be a part of it all. Hope Matthew had a blast,” read one comment.

“Amazing how such a simple request brought so much joy, not only to Matthew and his family but to those who participated,” wrote another. “[We] received just as much. I was choked up the entire time.”