How social media helped this woman grow her family

Donna Smith is preparing for one of the biggest birthdays of her life.

It’s not a milestone in age, but it will be the day she meets her sister for the first time.

Donna, who lives in Cherryville, has always known she had several brothers and a sister, she just never met most of them.

The single mother of two grew up in Shelby with her brother, Roger Smith, but their three younger siblings were given up for adoption.

Asking their mother for details didn’t prove fruitful as the adoptions were closed.

"It's always been my wish to find them,” she said. “It's always hurt me to know that I've got brothers out there and a sister out there who know nothing about me and my brother, Roger?”

Donna’s mother was a teenager when she had her.

When her parents split up, she and her brother stayed with her father and grandmother. Eventually, her mother brought her to live with her.

Donna moved out when she was 15, and she and Roger have stayed close to this day.

They have some knowledge about their younger siblings, a brother named Daniel and a set of twins, Scott and Penny.

Recently, Donna began posting about her quest to find her brothers and sister on various social media platforms. Last week, she got the surprise of her life.

A woman named Tina saw her post and reached out. She said she babysat the twins before they were adopted, and she wanted to help.

In no time, she was connecting the siblings.

“I’ll forever be grateful for her. Without her seeing my post and her willingness to help, I wouldn’t have the information that I have today,” Donna said.

In the blink of an eye, Donna and Roger were in a video chat with Penny and Scott.

The physical resemblance was undeniable, she said.

The conversation was a little awkward at first, then not.

“It was great. We were all crying,” she said. “We knew what to say, and we didn’t know what to say, if that makes any sense.”

They made plans for Donna and Roger to meet up with the twins where they live near the North Carolina coast for the upcoming weekend. The meeting coincides with Donna’s birthday on Aug. 2.

Scott later decided not to wait, and he drove to meet Roger and Donna last weekend. The trio took some selfies and caught up on decades of life.

Donna said she’s never had a very large family, and losing her father more than a decade ago was a tough blow.

“I don’t have much family remaining,” she said. “So, finding my other siblings, that’s why it’s always been so important to me.”

Today, Donna has two adult children and a grandchild, and she’s looking forward to expanding her family.

“This will be the most amazing wish to come true for my birthday,” she said.

While Donna said she's exciting about getting together with the twins this weekend, she's also hopeful their story will get out, and they will find Daniel.

"We're very hopeful to find him soon," she said.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Siblings find relatives for the first time by reaching out online