It is very important for kids to have hobbies and pursue their interests. And obviously it's important for parents to be supportive of their children.
From a young age, I was obsessed with collecting sea glass and seashells. I'm sure my parents worried about what might be inside some of those shells, yet they knew it was important to encourage me in what I loved. But that was nothing compared to what one father was willing to do to support his son's dreams.
Callum is a young wheelchair-bound boy who was born with a disease similar to muscular dystrophy. For much of his childhood growing up in Australia, Callum has loved rare, exotic cars, like the kind that Hollywood stars drive.
One Christmas when Callum was ten years old, he told his father Jared that his wish would be to ride in a sportscar. But because of his disease and the limitations of his wheelchair, Callum told his dad, "I know that can't happen."
Moved by his son's heartfelt request and determined to deliver his wish, Jared sprang into action. This inspiring story of what one father did to try to make his disabled son's dream come true is absolutely awe-inspiring.
Please SHARE if you are as moved as I am by Jared and Callum's uplifting story.
Moved by Callum's wish to ride in a sportscar, Jared wrote a letter and posted it on Aussie Exotics, one of Australia's most popular websites for exotic car lovers.
Jared wrote, "Callum has had some challenges in his life you might say. He was born with a muscle disease which hasn't yet been diagnosed but it's similar to muscular dystrophy; very weak muscles, poor respiratory system (meaning many trips to [the] hospital with pneumonia), and a lot of other issues."
"The reason I'm writing this is because when I asked Callum a while ago what would be his favorite thing for Christmas he said, 'Well, Dad, I'd love a drive in a supercar but I know that can't happen.' I'm just a dad who wants to do the best for his young fella, a boy who's had a rocky road in his ten years. So I'm asking anyone who might want to help a little guy achieve his dream of having a ride in a supercar whether you could take Callum for a ten minute drive?"
Jared closed his letter, "I hope you can help but if you can't, Callum will still be looking out for your car and we might see you at a traffic light sometime. He'll be the excited one."
The response to Jared's heartfelt plea?
Within ten minutes, the replies came pouring in!
People from all over Australia responded to Jared's plea.
Owners of all kinds of rare, exotic cars offered to take Callum for a spin. Even those who didn't have sports cars or who lived too far away offered words of support.
Car owners responding to Jared's letter began to band together and make plans with comments such as "Why don't we make a meet of it? That way he can do a few cars on the same day?" And "one ten minute drive is good, but five drives or so after another would surely be better."
The community actually planned three separate events for Callum to ride around in exotic cars!
Jared wrote back to all of the generous offers, "I can't believe this!! I'm literally sitting at work with tears in my eyes hoping nobody notices."
The community even decided that they had to find a photographer to document Callum's sportscar adventures. They were able to get famed exotic car photographer Marcel from Celsydney Photography to take these amazing photos for Callum to have as a keepsake!
With the help and goodwill of strangers, Jared had been able to grant Callum's seemingly impossible wish.
Callum's love of rare cars roars on. And the joy that Callum was able to experience because of a father's love and a community's incredible generosity has proved to be an inspiration to people around the world!
For more photos like these, visit Celsydney Photography.
Please SHARE if you are as moved as I am by Jared and Callum's uplifting story.
