A made in Brantford phenomenon to ensure every child gets a birthday party invite is spreading across the province.

Unbirthday birthday parties are being held in Ottawa, Belleville and St. Catharines this month and Nicole Callander plans to attend every one of them.

“It’s a bit overwhelming but at the same time it’s really gratifying,” Callander said at the second annual ‘unbirthday birthday party’ held at Mohawk Park on Sunday. “It’s incredible the number of phone calls and messages I got when this went out last year.

“There’s a real need for something like this and its something people all over recognize.”

Callander came up with the ‘unbirthday birthday party’ last year when her daughter Kaitlin, who was about to turn 18, was feeling left out.

At a time when other kids her age were celebrating a milestone 18th birthday, graduation ceremonies and acceptance to college or university, Kaitlin had little to celebrate.

Kaitlin has Williams Syndrome, a developmental disorder that means she cognitively functions at about a kindergarten level but she still thinks and acts like a typical teenager.

With her daughter feeling upset and left out, Callander took steps to make her feel better. She asked friends and family to send birthday cards to Kaitlin to help her feel better and at the time expected her daughter would get 100 cards or so.

But word of Callander’s campaign spread and Kaitlin received all kinds of cards including one from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Kaitlin received cards from across Canada, the United States and overseas and a social media group set up by Callander – Kindness for Kaitlin – attracted more than 2,000 members

As a result of the support and interest generated by the initiative, Callander decided to hold an ‘unbirthday 18th birthday’ party for Kaitlin. The party was such a huge success that Callander launched Friends 4 Kindness and held a second unbirthday birthday party at Mohawk Park on Sunday.

“It’s a great day,” Callander said as children played and posed for pictures with their favourite Superhero or Disney characters. “We’ve had so much support from the community, so many people have donated their time or made in-kind donations to make this a special day for these kids.

“We had first responders show up and we had Mayor (Kevin) Davis and some city councillors show up as well.”

City councillors who attended the party included Joshua Wall, Rick Weaver and Cheryl Antoski.

Kayla Dawson, 6, had a great time at the event.

“Getting my face painted and meeting Captain America,” Kayla answered when asked what she enjoyed most about the event.

Neil Louden, 14, also had a good time but had a different answer when asked what he enjoyed most about the day.

“I met a paramedic,” Neil said.

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