An 11-year-old boy from Amarillo, TX is about to have one of the greatest summers of his life, all thanks to his own bravery and a little neighborly kindness.
TikToker Brennan Ray was heartbroken after he had a conversation with young Shayden through his doorbell camera and learned the neighborhood kid was going door to door in search of friends.
Ray posted the footage to TikTok to help Shayden look for some buddies, and the result was more than anyone could have imagined.
The video - which has been viewed more than 68 million times in a week - is captioned:
"It takes 2 seconds to make someone's 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?"
And help, they did.
The footage began with Ray answering his door cam, "What's up, man," to which Shayden responded:
“Hi. I just wanted to see if you knew any kids around like, 11 or 12, maybe, because I need some friends. Like, really bad."
Ray told him about a house where two boys about that age live, but sadly, Shayden had some poor encounters with them.
“Well, um, they’re not my friends anymore because they’re bullies to me."
Shayden then asked if Ray had any children, but Ray explained he only has a two-year-old daughter.
But that didn't bother the eager boy one bit:
“Oh, OK that’s great. I love two-year-olds to be honest, they’re just the most cutest things I have ever known."
After talking a bit, Shayden went on his way, wishing Ray a good day, and Ray promised to say "hi" when he sees him in the neighborhood.
But the exchange bothered Ray, so he decided to post the video in search of some help.
You can watch it below.
And if that's not heartbreaking enough, Ray posted a follow-up video after he noticed that Shayden had actually come to his house about 30 minutes earlier but quickly turned and walked away.
You can watch below.
Needless to say, viewers of the videos were incredibly moved by Shayden's bravery and perseverance on his quest for friendship.
In fact, even Bella Hadid chimed in after a viewer suggested the family set up a P.O. box where Shayden could receive letters.
@brennanray/TikTok
And others wanted more than anything for Shayden to find some friends.
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
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@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
@brennanray/TikTok
Ray has posted some other videos to update followers of Shayden's story.
In one, he revealed that he set up a GoFundMe for Shayden so that he could purchase some items for entertainment, such as a video game console, amusement park tickets and things he may need for the next school year, and the donations flooded in, resulting in more than $35,000 in donations, which far exceeded their goal of $7000.
In his latest video, Ray, his wife Angel and their daughter finally met up with Shayden and hung out with him and his family for the day.
You can watch below.
It looks like a purely joyous and incredible time was had by all.
@jessicachastain/Instagram
