The news these days is often depressing at worst and frustrating at best. It’s easy to let it get us down. Never fear… The News Blender has you covered. Once a week we feature Something Good and, in return, all you have to do is tell us something good that has happened to you this week, something you are thankful for, a joke, a cute animal story, an inspiring tale of heroics, a Random Act of Kindness… SOMETHING good.
Today’s something good is asking for help and giving help.
On July 3, an 11-year-old named Shayden Walker rang the bell at a house in his neighborhood. Through the doorbell camera, he asked the homeowner, Brennan Ray, if he knew of any kids Shayden could play with. “Um, I just wanted to see if you knew any kids around like 11 or 12, maybe,” Shayden said. “I need some friends, like really bad.”
Brennan tried to be helpful and pointed out a house that had kids Shayden’s age, but the boy said they weren’t his friends anymore because they had been bullying him. Shayden was clearly a bright, engaging kid who was so desperate for friends that he was even excited to hear that Brennan and his wife Angell had a two-year-old.
Struck by Shayden’s plight, Brennan posted the video on TikTok, asking for people to be Shayden’s friends.
@brennanray Its takes 2 seconds to make someones day, you never know what people are going through until you get a chance to talk to them. This young man is well mannered, kind, and brave. So tiktok can we help shayden make some friends???#fyp #bekind #nobullying #love #kindness #letschangetheworld ♬ original sound – Brennan Ray
People from around the world, many who had been bullied themselves as kids, chimed in with words of support and offers of friendship. The Rays were encouraged to start a GoFundMe for Shayden and they quickly raised a shocking $37,000 so that Shayden could have funds to improve his life – clothes, trips to amusement parks or anything that Shayden might want or need.
His mother, Krishna Patterson, found out about all of this when her older son mentioned that Shayden was famous, according to USAToday. Initially, Krishna panicked when she heard about all this attention on her son, who had been bullied for so long and had so many challenging diagnoses, and wanted to shut it all down to protect him. But she was convinced otherwise by meeting the Rays.
“I was panicked because I thought my son is going to be made a laughingstock,” Krishna Patterson said. “Shayden has already had so many problems with school, with being bullied and hopeless. Then when I met with these people, Angel and Brennen, who started the GoFundMe and shared the video, they are literally walking angels.”
@brennanray Thank you all for your generosity and kindness! We expected to see support from our community but we're shocked and amazed by how everyone's shown up for Shayden. Shaydens mom decided to turn off donations, but all funds will stay within the GoFundMe account until they say otherwise. We'll keep you updated along the way. Thank you! #kindnessmatters #bullyingawareness #love #kindness #fyp ♬ original sound – Brennan Ray
A neighbor and Amarillo resident, Kyle Tijerina, hosted an anti-bullying event to support Shayden. “Shine Like Shayden” brought out dozens of neighbors to celebrate Shayden and let him know people cared.
“We organized this event to raise awareness against bullying and to be a voice for those that do not dare to stand up for themselves,” said Kyle. “We are trying to promote the courage to stand up against bullying by reaching out and talking to people.” He added, “This hit home for a lot of people that saw or experienced bullying that did not dare to stand up and did not know how to deal with the issue. It shows that you have support no matter who you are. We want to show that there are people to talk to. We need to build better camaraderie with our community to combat bullying.”
Krishna said, “It is overwhelming but also awe-inspiring that Amarillo could come together like this from all walks of life from anyone who has been bullied whether they are abled or special needs.” She continued, “Shayden always says bullying is a dark and lonely path for the bully or the one being bullied. There are people that you can reach out to because you are obviously in pain.”
Brennan said, “Shayden himself touched me in the video with his infectious smile. He shows to everybody in the video that he was genuinely reaching out for help in the video so we felt compelled to reach out to step up for the kid. I think this video touched the world. If you were human, you could tell that Shayden was asking for help.”
@angellpaigee We got to spend some of our day taking shayden to some interviews, and just hanging out with him. we love this kid and love spending time with him. After our interviews, we took shayden to get his favorite fast food and he had miltiple people recognize him, hug him, and tell them hes not alone in this world anymore. Thank you all for being so kind to shayden. Lets continue to be great, spread kindess, and show love!!! He is #soloved #shaydenwalker #makinghistory #friendship #love #kindness #stopbulling @Brennan Ray ♬ Count on Me – Bruno Mars
Dustin Patterson, Shayden’s stepfather, said that half the money from the GoFundMe will be donated to charity with the remainder set aside for Shayden’s future. But part of the funds will allow Shayden to go on a vacation, which he had not experienced since he was a young child.
In one of the many interviews Shayden has been in, he said that his confidence has skyrocketed with all of the support and love he has received after his short conversation at the Rays’ door.
It takes so little to help someone like Shayden – his lonely plea for friendship highlights what so many people are experiencing right now. It takes courage to ask for help and a little bit of kindness to give help – that is humanness, in a nutshell. And being human is a good thing.
Now it’s your turn… Tell me something good!
