One doesn’t necessarily have to have a fairy godmother to see miraculous things happen. Sometimes, the local community is more than enough.
A Florida-based family recently made sure of it themselves, after a mom of three boys, Nadja Jovanovic, addressed the local community in Winter Springs using social media. In her post, she asked if anyone with a certain kind of car could stop by their house on her son’s 4th birthday, as he was “absolutely obsessed” with cars. Little did she know that the community was about to give her son the best birthday gift ever.
This 4-year-old got the best birthday gift ever from a group of local car enthusiasts
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
It all started when the boy’s mother addressed the community, asking for an owner of a certain kind of car to stop by
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
The community didn’t disappoint
Instead of getting to see one vehicle, the boy got to marvel at an entire parade of Porsche cars
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Nadja’s video of the car parade in front of the family’s house went viral
Seeing the cars absolutely made Nadja’s son’s day
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
The group of car enthusiasts even got the boy a birthday present
Image credits: nadjaa_jovanovic_
What started with one mom trying to arrange a memorable birthday for her son quickly grew into a team effort
Imagine something you really wanted as a child. Some toy, a pet, or a game of a certain kind, for instance. Now imagine that you got it – you, a little kid, have just gotten your dream come true. And now, multiply that feeling by a hundred. That’s what I imagine the little guy, who is “absolutely obsessed” with cars, as his mom puts it, must have felt when he saw not one, not two, but an entire parade of Porsche cars.
The beautiful gesture from the local community of car enthusiasts was captured on video by Nadja Jovanovic, the birthday boy’s mom, who was actually the one to get the ball rolling. She initially messaged the local community, asking sports car owners there if anyone could stop by their house. But in the caption of her video, which didn’t take long to go viral, she thanked a person named Mike for putting the surprise together. (Shout out to Mike!)
The individual and team effort that it took to arrange something this wholesome didn’t go unnoticed. Not only did the video go viral, it also received an abundance of wonderful comments, celebrating the local community and all the people involved.
Being a part of an engaging community can have a number of positive effects
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Being part of a community—whether in real life or online—can positively influence a person’s well-being. Just ask anyone who lives amid neighbors from hell, as they would likely be happy to switch them for a nice community in a matter of seconds. According to Wellbeing People, there are numerous benefits of belonging to an engaging community, the main ones being support, influence, sharing, and reinforcement.
Being part of a community enables its members to support one another both mentally and physically, which makes everyone involved feel better. It also fosters empowerment, and when people feel empowered, they feel a sense of control enabling them to influence positive change. “Being able to make a difference to a group that is what matters to its members,” the source points out.
Being part of an engaging community also promotes sharing, which stimulates innovation and growth, be it personal or community-wide. Lastly, there’s reinforcement, which leads to encouragement of desirable behaviours and provides motivation. “A strong and engaging community will go beyond the immediate, basic needs and ensure that fulfilment is a positive experience. By doing so, it builds beneficial rewards and reinforcement for an enjoyable sense of togetherness.”
The community in Winter Springs is an excellent example of going beyond the basics and, consequently, enjoying a sense of togetherness. This one seemingly small gesture created life-long memories not only for the birthday boy, but likely for everyone involved. Someone in the comments lovingly joked that the parade was just “boys showing other boys their toy,” which ought to have been fun for both Nadja’s sons and the adult “boys” who owned the cars.
Netizens loved the surprise the little boy got
One person, however, believed that such surprises can hurt people's wallets in the long run
