Celebrating 31

Turkish acting sensation Akin Akinozu celebrated his 31st birthday on September 22. In lieu of presents the young actor asked his fans to donate to charities in an Instagram post.

The young actor was inundated by birthday wishes and words of support by fans from around the globe. But his fans didn’t stop with words, they donated thousands of dollars, euros and Turkish liras on his behalf towards charities around the world as a birthday present.

Touched by the outpouring of support and warm wishes, Akin posted his heartfelt thanks on his Instagram page. Along with the words of thanks, he posted a video of himself blowing out a birthday candle, and an audio recording of his grandfather, Sureyya Arin, one of the first TV presenters on Turkish Radio Television (TRT), after whom he was named. Akin never knew his grandfather because the famous presenter died on September 20, 1988, two years and two days before his grandson would be born.

Here is a translation of Akin’s thank you message:

30 + 1... Because I enter every age with you with the freshness and enthusiasm of my first year... I thank you endlessly for all your donations, help and support that have made my name the means for goodness and blessings... Once again, I can be a part of love in action and witness its power. Thank you. I am also grateful for being able to blow these candles on behalf of all of us, saying "happy birthday" with peace of mind🙏——Two days ago, on the anniversary of his death, I received an audio recording of the thank you message my grandfather Süreyya Arın, whose name I bear, made in response to a greeting card he received from his siblings on the day he turned 31 just like me.  I believe that he wanted to thank you, who made his name live in this way, through me, and also expressed with his beautiful voice the feelings you gave me..

Here’s the translation of the audio recording: