Grandmother asks the world to be grandson’s family

Lisa Robin said she cried like a baby when she found out her mailbox had overflowed with letters from across the United States.

The 56-year-old Lakewood resident is on a mission to obtain a birthday card from every country and each state to celebrate her grandson Donaven Redenbaugh’s 18th birthday in October.

Even more, though, she wants to make a memory for him the only way she knows how.

“It’s hard to make a memory for Donaven,” Robin said. “When you ask him what he wants, he says, ‘I don’t know.’ He never asks for anything. He’s so laid back and chill.”

Redenbaugh was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder when he was 14. He was bullied in school and didn’t have a lot of friends, Robin said.

For Redenbaugh’s 16th birthday, Robin asked Facebook friends to send her grandson birthday cards. Redenbaugh received about 30 cards and packages and called it the best birthday he’s ever had.

“He really, really enjoyed it, and he really liked receiving cards from people he didn’t really know,” Redenbaugh’s aunt Falan Fountain said. “That was something we didn’t really know that Donaven enjoyed until he opened them on his birthday a few years ago.”

Earlier this month, Robin created an event page on Facebook for his 18th birthday, and people have shared it and tagged celebrities like David Rose in an attempt to make it go viral.

So far, Robin has received about 72 cards and packages for Redenbaugh. The mail has come from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii, Delaware, Texas, Florida and about 14 other states.

“The more letters, the better,” Robin told The News Tribune during a recent interview. “I don’t care where they come from. I was just trying to reach the world.”

Redenbaugh hung some of the gifts he received for his 16th birthday in his room, which is where he spends the majority of his time. Redenbaugh said he typically wakes up and plays video games, although he does try to go outside as much as he can. He said he doesn’t have a lot of friends, so he usually ends up playing with his brother DraeVaughn and his brother’s dog or goes online to interact with the 300 friends he’s made on XBox.

“I have friends from all corners of the world,” said Redenbaugh, who doesn’t know about the letters his grandmother is asking for. “Some from Russia, some from England, some from Ireland. A lot from the United States — one in Illinois, one in Florida, one in New York.”

Redenbaugh said he doesn’t have many friends in the Lakewood area because he doesn’t like people, which is also why he doesn’t go to school.

“It was too ‘people-y’ for me, if that makes sense,” Redenabugh said. “I’d have to know someone to enjoy their presence, and going to school isn’t a very good place. I tried college, but that was also pretty lame.”

Redenbaugh also has sensory processing disorder, or SPD, so he wore noise-cancelling headphones around school.

“I got him some nice Bose ones — they lasted four days because somebody broke them at the school,” Robin said. “I paid a lot of money for those.”

Robin said she doesn’t have much money between raising two grandsons and her own medical bills. She gained custody of Redenbaugh when he was about 4 years old because of his mother’s drug addiction. She gained custody of Redenbaugh’s brother DraeVaughn, or “Dooter,” 10, about two years ago.

Susie Rhode, one of Robin’s friends and a former roommate, said she doesn’t think holidays or birthdays were made special for Redenbaugh when he was younger. She also said she thinks he might not like celebrating because there are only a few people to celebrate with.

Robin hopes to change that this year.

“The world for him this year is his family,” she said.

Fountain and Rhode both think Redenbaugh might be overwhelmed by the number of cards he receives, but they don’t think it’ll be in a bad way.

Robin can’t wait to show Redenbaugh all of the cards and hopes it will be a birthday he won’t forget.

“I would really love to dump thousands of cards in the living room and capture his face,” Robin said. “That’s my wish.”

Cards wanted

Donaven Redenbaugh’s 18th birthday is Oct. 17. Letters for him will be accepted through Oct. 1. Those who would like to participate should address letters to Donaven Redenbaugh, P.O. Box 9335 Tacoma, WA 98490.

This story was originally published June 28, 2019 at 12:29 PM.