The family also received donations to rebuild their home.
After a man with Down syndrome lost the majority of his movie collection when his family’s home burned down in California, kind strangers stepped in to donate hundreds of DVDs and tapes to him.
A wildfire consumed Steve and Vicki Orsillo’s home in Oroville, California, on Saturday and inside the house was their 34-year-old son’s beloved movie collection.
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Mark’s sister, Danielle Devine, tried to help save the movies before they had to get out of the burning home, but could only manage to save 20 out of her brother’s collection of 300 that he’s been gathering for years.
“He didn't really understand what was going on at first but when he found out the house burned down he cried,” Devine told InsideEdition.com. “He was sad for a couple of minutes and was having a bit of a hard time. He lost everything in the fire.”
Devine posted to Facebook on Monday reaching out to people, explaining what happened and asking them to donate movies for Mark. She was only expecting to get a few movies.
The post quickly went viral, however, and she received much more than she asked for.
“I thought it would just be people in our city. It just spread like crazy. It was unbelievable. By Tuesday, we already had 100 videos,” Devine said.
The post has been shared 1,500 times as of Saturday.
On Friday, Devine decided to surprise her unsuspecting brother with the 400 videos that have been donated thus far.
In a moment captured on video, Mark’s ecstatic as he sorts through all the movies he’s received.
“He started kissing the movies! He was so happy. He was literally screaming. It was delightful and it was pure joy,” Devine said.
Mark also received a television, DVD player, and PlayStation 2.
“People are still asking to send them now. I think he’ll get over 1,000 in total,” Devine said.
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The Orsillo family will be living in their RV home while their house is being rebuilt, but Mark now has his DVDs to help him cope with the process.
The family has already raised $12,000 to help them rebuild.
“He has already begun watching his movies on his new DVD player,” Devine said. “It’s unbelievable but if you know Mark, he is the most loving person ever. It’s like the love is being returned to him like a million times over. What everyone has done has made this a lot easier for Mark.”
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