Natalie Carson, 19, gained national attention after posting an ad
on Craigslist.com saying she had never had a happy birthday and
wanted to rent a family to make the one coming up this month
special. KMGH-TV in Denver reported on Wednesday that she had found
a fill-in family.
Carson's Craigslist ad last month said she had been taken from her
abusive parents as a child and grown up in foster care. She was
never adopted and then aged out of the foster system. Carson said
she was willing to pay a family $8 an hour to celebrate the birthday
with her.
"I just want one day that I can feel important and special, and like
I matter even if I really don't," Carson's ad read. "I have never
had a good birthday, so I figure why not this birthday."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Jun/11/images/ads/current/business_directory_filler.png) Carson told KMGH that she had been flooded with offers, including
some from people in other states willing to fly her out for the day.
She told the station she had decided on a Colorado family to help
her celebrate and asked for privacy after being overwhelmed by so
much attention.
She also said her story was not unique and that many children who
have been in foster care spend their birthdays alone.
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"There's something more, you know, than just me because there's a
million more of me," Carson told KMGH.
Carson said she was inspired to post the Craigslist ad after seeing
a teen in California make a similar request seeking a family for the
holidays.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in New York; Editing by Cynthia
Johnston and Bill Trott)
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