Neighbors raise $37,000 for bullied boy who knocked on their door asking for friends
He said he really needed some friends and his neighborhood rallied around him
Joe Harker
When a bullied boy plucked up the courage to ask his neighbors if they knew anyone he could be friends with, he probably wasn't expecting to go viral.
Every now and then the internet can actually be quite a nice place and they've proved it by helping out a young kid who was having a bit of trouble finding new friends.
Texas boy, Shayden Walker, shot to online fame after knocking on the door of Brennan and Angel Ray, with the couple's doorbell cam capturing the interaction.
In the footage posted to TikTok, the camera captured Shayden heading for his neighbors door before getting nervous and turning away, but half an hour later he returned.
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The kid asked his neighbors whether they knew any kids aged 11 or 12, explaining honestly that 'I need some friends really bad'.
Brennan pointed out a nearby house where there were a couple of kids Shayden's age, but the boy explained that 'they're not my friends any more 'cause they're bullies to me'.
The young lad then asked Brennan if he had any kids and it turned out the answer was yes, but at two-years-old, his daughter might have been a bit young to become Shayden's new best friend.
That didn't deter the boy, who said 'I love two-year-olds' and added that they were 'just like the most cutest things I have ever known', before telling Brennan that he 'used to have a two-year-old sister'.
While Brennan didn't know where any other kids Shayden could make friends with were, he promised to say hi to him if he saw the boy out and about.
Shayden politely bid his neighbor a 'good day' and headed off, but Brennan decided it would be really good to do something nice for the kid.
He ended up setting up a GoFundMe which is currently closed for donations having amassed over $37,000 to get Shayden and his family some nice things.
The fundraiser was hoping to buy the boy a 'gaming system, school clothes and hopefully some amusement park tickets', but with people generously raising such an impressive amount, it's likely that the boy's family could afford to push the boat out a little bit more.
Over 60 million people have seen the TikTok posted by Brennan to show his chat with Shayden and the comments are choc-full of people wishing the young man well.
So many people said they hoped he'd found some friends, while plenty of others criticised his bullies for the way they'd treated him.