Amelia Kolpa is seven years old and lives in Rowley Regis, and for most of her life she has been going in and out of hospital. She has a rare childhood cancer called neuroblastoma, and because of that, her days are often full of tests, treatment, and tiredness.

As her 8th birthday on 3 March started to get closer, she did something a little different. Instead of asking for toys or party bags, she wished for 8,000 birthday cards. She wanted to try to break the U.K. record and, even more than that, to feel a big wave of love from as many people as possible. Her family shared her wish on BBC radio and online, and slowly the story began to travel. It reached biker Matthew Lemm and people in the local Hells Angels community, and through his restaurant, Lockside Steakhouse, they began collecting cards. Then the idea really took off. Schools, clubs, and complete strangers from all over the U.K. and even from other countries started sending messages, drawings, and prayers. By early February, more than 60,000 cards had already arrived, many brought to her street by a huge biker convoy riding through cold, wet weather. Reports say the total later passed 90,000. Right now, Amelia is receiving palliative care while she waits and hopes for a place on a clinical trial. Even so, when she sits there opening each envelope, her smile shows how much every single card matters. For us it might seem like “just a card” — but for her, it truly feels like the whole world.