Nearly 1,000 cards sent from strangers to little girl coping with the loss of her brother

People from around the world are helping to bring holiday cheer to a young girl who lost her little brother in a car crash nearly a year ago.

This will be the family's first Christmas without him, so they asked for cards to give Arianna, his big sister, who was having a rough time. To their surprise, more than 800 cards showed up at their home. 

The cards, sent from all over the world, are giving 10-year-old Arianna encouragement and strength. In November, their mother, Aimee Schewe, asked her friends to send Christmas cards to her 10-year-old daughter, but to make it about praying for her and keeping her in their thoughts as she coped with the loss of her brother Aiden.

"I thought what a blessing it would be to extend that to her through her pain and uplift her," she said. What was sent was more than the Schewe family expected. 

Hundreds of letters filled with love, encouragement, wisdom and kindness, all from total strangers. Even some sharing their stories of loss. 

"My girls have a baby brother and [he's] been watching down on them too. We think heaven must be the most beautiful place at Christmas," Schewe said.

Adding, "It's been amazing to see the time people have taken to send her a card and share their stories. A lot of people have similar stories and have experienced a loss, it's great to know we're not alone."