A mother in Missouri, US, offered to pay people to be friends with her 24-year-old son, Christian Bowers who is diagnosed with Down Syndrome. A heartbreaking post that was shared on Facebook has gone viral on social media.
On February 2, Donna Herter shared a message on Facebook requesting a "young man" to spend two hours twice a month with her son.
The post reads: "I'm looking for a young man between the ages of 20-28 who would like to make some extra money. I'll pay you to be my son's friend twice a month for two hours. You only have to sit with him and play video games in his room. Nothing else. He's 24, has Down Syndrome, and has no friends his age. You will not be alone with him, myself or his grandpa will be home. He won't know you are getting paid, but that you are there for him those two days. The pay is $80 (Dh 293.83) for 2 hours. It can be in Troy or St. Charles, whichever is closer for you. Please message me. Thank you!
PS: Getting paid is not optional. The reason I'm paying is to guarantee you show up. He's had many people tell him, "someday I'll visit", and they never do. (If any of my relatives are reading this and interested, the offer is for you too) EDIT: I tagged him so you can see his profile. He does not know how to read, so he can't read the post."
She received tremendous positive responses online, with many people offering to become friends with Bowers without payment.
In her Facebook post, people have even offered help from London, Brazil, and Australia. Also, some people are asking for his gamer tag to play online video games with him.
Speaking to the local news channels, Herter said that she received many positive responses online, with many wanting to be friends with Bowers without any payment.
And many had sent them gifts which had made Bowers cheerful.
She added that she never expected this tremendous positive response from people. Many had shared her post, and people are rushing to be friends with Bowers.
The post gathered nearly 60,000 shares and over 26,000 comments.
A Facebook user, Shirley D Lassner, commented on the post: "My kids will play with him virtually, for free, it would be our pleasure! We don't live anywhere close to you, but please reach out! Such a great mum!"
Another Facebook user, M Celine Beaumont, wrote: "Would he love a postcard? I live in Canada, and I could send him some postcards once in a while if you want."
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