Strangers Befriend Man with Down Syndrome After Mom Offers to Pay Someone to Spend Time with Him: ‘Heaven’

A social media post shared by a Missouri mother has led to an outpouring of kindness towards her 24-year-old son, who has Down Syndrome.

Earlier this month, Donna Herter shared a message to Facebook requesting a “young man” to spend two hours twice a month with her son, Christian Bowers. She said would pay the person $80 every two hours.

“I’m looking for a young man, between the ages of 20-28 who would like to make some extra money,” Herter wrote. “Two days a month for two hours, I’ll pay you to be my son’s friend. All you have to do is sit with him and play video games in his room. Nothing else.”

“He’s 24 and has Down Syndrome and doesn’t have any friends his age,” she continued. “You will not be alone with him, myself or his grandpa will be home. Obviously, he won’t know you are getting paid, but that you are there for him those 2 days. The pay is $80 for 2 hours.”

The post quickly went viral and has since garnered nearly 60,000 shares and more than 26,000 comments.

Herter told CBS affiliate KMOV she received a largely positive response online, with many people offering to become friends with Bowers without any expectation of payment. She has even received offers from as far away as London and Australia.

But Saturday, Bowers was given a surprise visit by members of the St. Louis nonprofit, STL Youth Sports Outreach.

Founder Billy Mayhall told KMOV he was moved by Herter’s post and called his friend Derk Brown, who has a large social media following. The pair enlisted other donors and Clement Hyundai to give Bowers a 65-inch flat-screen TV, a new TV stand, a wireless sound bar, St. Louis Blues tickets, and snacks for gaming sessions.

Herter said that Bowers was thrilled with the gifts, saying, “It’s big! It’s like heaven.” She added that she never expected such a reaction and was overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers.

Mayhall emphasized that children with special needs deserve friendship just as much as anyone else. He hopes that more people will take notice of their needs.

“People now are starting to see a lot of these kids with special needs need somebody in life,” he explained to KMOV, “just like we do, no different.