On July 3rd, 11-year-old Shayden Walker of Amarillo, Texas decided to take a chance.
Loneliness compelled him.
He walked down the street to knock on the door of Brennan Ray and Angell Hammersmith .
Shayden remembered when the couple came over to his house last year, to retrieve their dog who ran into the Walker yard.
They seemed like nice people and he felt drawn to them.
Shayden has had a rough go of it, as he is a very friendly kid.
He also suffers from a number of conditions, including autism, ADHD, bipolar disorder, oppositional defiant disorder.
He gets bullied.
A lot.
Says his mother, Krishna Patterson, "He stims very hard, he flaps his arms and makes noises that a lot of people have made fun of him, so he told me, 'I just deal with the pain of holding it in so I don't get made fun of because of it' and that hurt, that broke my heart.
He's been hospitalized because the bullying was so bad and he felt so isolated. If you see it, just advocate for that person. Just be there for that person. Do not let that person suffer."
Indeed, he knocked on the right house.
After doing so, he spoke into the doorbell camera.
“Um, I just wanted to see if you knew any kids around like 11 or 12, maybe?
I need some friends, like really bad.”
At first, Brennan, who wasn’t home at the time but at work, directed him to some nearby houses with children, to which Shayden responded that he was friends with them once, but they’re not his friends anymore “because they’re bullies.”
Brennan suggested that he could play with their young daughter if he wanted?
“Oh great! I love 2-year-olds, to be honest, they’re like the most cutest things I’ve ever known.”
And there it was.
His openness and honesty and goodness was on such full display and their heart broke.
Being rather young themselves, they decided to immediately follow their instinct and both post a video on TikTok and at the same time, start a fundraiser through gofundme.
Recalled Angell, that the reason they decided to seize the moment was to show people just how destructive and unacceptable bullying is, and how sweet Shayden is.
And that others would relate and share.
And did it touch a nerve, worldwide.
“Honestly, we posted it to get, like some friends for him. We had no idea it would reach worldwide or nationwide, so the fact it’s gone all over the world is crazy.
I made the GoFundMe and within the first hour, it was $2,000 and within the first five hours, it was $10,000. Before I could get off work, we had passed $20,000 and so it was honestly, it was mind-blowing how fast it happened. We were honestly hoping to get to Shayden and his parents before they had seen it, but it had gone so viral that there was no way.”
Said Krishna, “I was panicked because I thought my son is going to be made a laughingstock.
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.
This blew up so fast they did not even have a chance to find me first. 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. 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.
I messaged Angell and said ‘What is this?’ because I didn’t know them, and then I didn’t get to see the video because I didn’t have TikTok. So when I was able to see the video and see the pain in Shayden’s eyes, I realized that these people were just good-hearted, literal walking angels who wanted to do something good for a boy they saw in pain.”
And Amarillo did indeed take it to heart.
Local residents felt compelled to show Shayden how much they cared about him and also to take a stand against bullying.
With a ‘Shine Like Shayden’ event.
Said co- organizer Kyle Tijerina, “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.
We are trying to promote the courage to stand up against bullying by reaching out and talking to people.
And to be there for Shayden.”
Said Krishna, “When I was talking to Angell about it, finally, when I got to see how much the GoFundMe was, I asked her to shut it off, and in less then in 24 hours, it had ballooned to $37,000.
After I and Shayden talked about it, we agreed to donate some of that.
So after Shayden received a ‘dope’ gaming system, some new clothes, annual tickets to a local amusement park, and a coming vacation trip to somewhere fun he wants to travel to, the extra funds will be donated to tornado victims in neighboring Perryton and Matador and towards aid supplies for Ukraine. ( Our kind of people, amirite? )
Brennan made sure to note that this is all about Shayden.
“My main thing, I was thinking of Shayden. I was thinking about how this is going to make this kid’s summer, it’s going to change his life possibly, so he was like really what was on my mind, just making sure that he’s happy and can make some friends.
Easily, I can say off top don’t ever judge anybody by how they look, how they talk, how they act, because you never know what somebody is going through, you never know the struggles that are going on within themselves, at home, so just be kind to everybody and be aware of the situation.
Whataburger’s official account wants to send Shayden and all his new friends to go get something to eat on them. We’ve been contacted by Howie Mandel. He wants to get on the phone and talk to Shayden and pick his brain. I believe Jake Paul’s manager messaged my wife through the GoFundMe page wanting to get Shayden to go to Dallas for his upcoming fight and do a meet and greet with Jake Paul.
I’ve probably had 20 people in my inbox saying we will send him and his family to Disneyland or Disney World.
And a lot of people not just trying to help him with financial stuff, but putting him in positions to help him make friends, like getting him into camps, getting him into jiu jitsu classes, maybe getting him onto a football team,” said Brennan.
And after 100 million (!!!) views, he now has friends who have offered to host him and his family from China to Australia, from Israel to India.
Added Angell, “We are just two normal people in Amarillo, Texas, so just one person having the courage to step out and ask for friends leads to another person having the courage to step out and ask and spread awareness on bullying, so it’s just been a great chain reaction of amazing things happening.
It takes one person to make a difference.”