Touching Story Of Boy Looking For Friends Goes Viral On TikTok

When a young boy showed up at Brennan Ray's front door, he had a conversation with him that he recorded through the doorbell camera. But neither of them could possibly know where that quick conversation would lead.

The boy, Shayden, was in search of friends and his conversation really touched Ray, who wanted to help him out. Ray uploaded his video to TikTok and the internet took over from there.

Ray was on a mission to not only change things for this young boy, but also the world.

The video 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?" 

He hashtagged the video, #bekind, #nobullying, #love, #kindness, #letschangetheworld.

After ringing the doorbell, Shayden waved to the camera and said, "Hi."

"Um, I just wanted to see if you knew any kids around, like 11 or 12, maybe. Cause I need, I need some friends, like really bad," Shayden said. Ray offered an option saying there are kids in the house to his right, but sadly that wasn't a good option for Shayden.

"Okay, well, um, they're not my friends anymore," he said. "Cause they're bullies to me."

He then asked Ray if he has any kids, to which he replied that he has a 2-year-old.

"That's great, cause I actually, I love 2-year-olds, to be honest," Shayden said. "They're just like the most cutest things I have ever known." He also said his sister was a handful at the age of 2, but he really enjoyed spending time with her.

Ray's video has received more than 69 million views, nearly 11 million likes, and 170,000 comments in just a little over a month.

"I have never wanted to hug a kid so bad in my life ??," one follower wrote in the comments. Another added, "Aww poor thing. It’s so hard being younger and struggling like that knowing that he shouldn’t. I hope he finds some good friends some day?"

Another viewer pointed out, "That is so sad he was okay with being a friend with a two-year-old. Lord bless this boy. He’s a beautiful human being."

A follow-up video that Ray shared suggested making a GoFundMe for Shayden "to help get him a dope gaming set up, some school clothes, amusement park tickets." He ended the caption with, "Let's come together and show him he's got some friends."

The GoFundMe page was started the day after Shayden's visit, and now, just a little over a month later, the page has raised $37,257! People from near and far donated money and left messages for Shayden.

"Shayden, you have two friends here in Australia," one person wrote. "We all have felt this way at one point or another in our lives. Anyone would be lucky to have you as their friend," said another.

Many others also offered advice and strength to Shayden.

"Shayden, you are a strong kid. No one deserves to be bullied or made fun of. You are incredibly brave to be putting yourself out there and actively look for friends instead of staying in the house," one person wrote.

Another shared, "I once heard it said, 'in a world where you could be anything, be kind' spreading love to you little man because no one deserves to be bullied."

Ray and his wife Angell wanted to give everyone an update on Shayden and his story. They were not expecting the TikTok video to blow up the way it did, but they are grateful.

"We had an initial goal of $7,000 and here we are at $36,000," he said. "We're thankful that we were able to do this for this young man and we're thankful for y'all, cause it would not have happened without TikTok."

The couple then posted a video of them meeting Shayden for the first time.  The video is captioned, "We finally got to meet Shayden! He had the same energy in person as he did over the doorbell camera. A pure bundle of joy. We have exciting news for yall coming soon, stay tuned! ????"

For those wondering why they had to drive to meet Shayden when it appeared they were neighbors, someone in the comments said Shayden was visiting his grandmother at the time, who lives next to Ray.

Tons of gratitude and sweet sentiments filled the comment section.

"Thank you so much for this! Shayden has gained not only friends but loving families ❤️," one person wrote. "You may have saved that little boys life..I’m grateful for you..being a father means so much and having your kids feel loved by others, ?"

Another viewer shared, "I hope you know how touched we are by this story. I hope if my children ever reached out for help they would encounter kind hearts like y'alls. ?"