Nearly 1,000 people from around the country are honoring a resident’s 100th birthday thanks to a simple online request made by her nursing home.  

The Elsberry Health Care Center, a 56-bed skilled nursing facility in Elsberry, MO, is celebrating resident Berniece Hoerr’s 100th birthday today. 

Most people mark the occasion by opening up a few cards from family and friends. But for Hoerr, she’ll get to open about 900 birthday cards from people around the country. 

It was last month when the facility sent out a request on Facebook for 100 birthday cards for Hoerr’s 100th birthday — a common online trend. What they didn’t expect is how far that message would reach.

“We’re a small community so I really didn’t think anybody followed our facebook page, but apparently they do,” Activities Director Becki Capps told McKnight’s.

Capps said birthday cards have been arriving from all over the United States, and the furthest state they’ve come is from Washington. 

“I thought it would be fun to see how far cards would come from (and) neat for her to see how social media works,” Capps added. 

Hoerr will begin the process of opening the cards today, according to Capps. The facility will also be hosting a birthday party with Hoerr’s family and friends to mark the occasion. They’ll also hold a casino day, which is one of Hoerr’s favorite activities. 

“She hasn’t seen the cards yet but she knows that they’re coming in,” Capps said. “She was very thankful that people were thinking of her.”