CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas \u2014 A Corpus Christi woman is receiving dozens of gifts from strangers around the world \u2014 from Chicago to the Netherlands \u2014 all thanks to an unlikely friendship.<\/p>\n
Mary Grant, 88, a resident at Solstice Senior Living, has been getting packages every week after her friend, Denise Lopez, 26, began sharing their story on TikTok.<\/p>\n
Corpus Christi woman receives dozens of gifts from around the world after a friendship went viral<\/p>\n
The friendship began in August, when Mary needed help at a local gas station, and Denise offered to step in.<\/p>\n
“And it went from helping her find Diet Coke, to toilet paper, to refrigerated food,” Denise Lopez said.<\/p>\n
“She bought all of it. She wouldn’t even let me pay for my own stuff,” Grant said.<\/p>\n
The two exchanged phone numbers and began spending time together. Denise started posting about their friendship on TikTok<\/a>, and Mary quickly became a hit.<\/p>\n “It went from me posting about Mary not celebrating her birthday to so many people asking, ‘Does Mary have a wishlist?’ ‘Does Mary have everything she needs?’ And I made a wishlist for her and she has been getting packages every week,” Lopez said.<\/p>\n Among the gifts are packages arriving from as far as Chicago and the Netherlands.<\/p>\n Dozens of packages and millions of views later, the duo even made it on national television<\/a>, in a segment on the “TODAY Show.”<\/p>\n Mary said she doesn’t even know what TikTok is, but that this experience has shown her that kindness is everywhere.<\/p>\n “You would hear these stories on television or a story in a magazine, and you’d never think it would happen to you, but it did. It’s unbelievable actually,” Grant said.<\/p>\n Lopez said she wants to hold a Day of Giving at Solstice \u2014 not just for Mary, but for all the residents there. She hopes to plan it for sometime before the holidays.<\/p>\n For the latest local news updates, click here<\/a>, or download the KRIS 6 News App. <\/a><\/p>\n Catch all the KRIS 6 News stories and more on our YouTube page<\/a>. Subscribe today!<\/p>\n