Kevin Watson wanted Legos for his birthday.

Because his family is facing financial difficulties, his mother wasn’t sure how she could make that happen. But thanks to a global community connected through Facebook, the 9-year-old boy had about 20 boxes of Legos to open at his Nov. 1 birthday party.

“People around the world do care,” Kevin’s mom, Nichole, said. “That’s all I wanted him to know.”

The Watson family, longtime residents of Golden, has been going through hard times lately, Nichole said. Along with other struggles, Kevin’s cat recently had to be put down. Then, to top it all off, none of his friends could attend his birthday party.

He was “so bummed,” Nichole said. “He cried so hard because he had nobody to celebrate with.”

Or so he thought.

Nichole reached out to three Facebook communities, explaining their situation and asked if people would be willing to send birthday cards. The response was overwhelming.

Birthday cards — and gifts — started showing up the next day. In less than a week, Kevin received about 100 birthday cards — from people of all ages and from across the U.S. and places as far as Australia and the Netherlands.

“I wanted to do something positive for my son,” Nichole said. “I’m just ecstatic by everybody’s response. I can’t say thank you enough.”

Viki Short, of Oregon, participated because she was in a similar situation in the early 1980s. She was raising her son in extreme poverty and wasn’t able to provide all that he wanted — or needed, she said.

Kevin’s story, Short said, “struck a note so familiar to my heart.”

Nichole sorted through the gifts to make sure they were appropriate for a 9-year-old. All she discovered was nothing but “love and support for Kevin.”

And Kevin is deserving of that generosity, she added. “He has such a big heart.”

Last year, he received some money for his birthday, she said. But instead of spending it on himself, he gave it to a quadriplegic who he sometimes plays online games with — even though he loses most of the time.

Kevin is a third grader in the gifted and talented program at Shelton Elementary School in Golden. He loves to read, enjoys music and participates in the school’s choir, and likes just about “everything geeky”— Dr. Who, Minecraft, Star Wars and Star Trek.

“He’s an amazing kiddo,” Nichole said. “He’s just getting to the age that he understands community, and he thinks Golden is a pretty awesome place to live.”