"They gave my son the gift of friendship!"

After finishing school, Donna Herter's son, who has Down syndrome, grew lonely. "I want friends," he'd say. Heart aching, Donna put an ad on Facebook offering to pay someone, and the loving response amazed her

- Kellie B. Gormly

Donna Herter’s heart broke as she watched her 24-year-old son, Christian Bowers, who has Down syndrome, grow lonelier and more depressed after graduating from high school. “He misses his classmates,” she told her husband, Allen. “He wants friends so badly.”

Christian would often go up to strangers and invite them to come to his house to play video games. Once, he invited a table of construction workers to come eat with him when the family went out for pizza. They were kind enough to join him, and like most people Christian approached, they smiled when he asked them to come to his house and hang out, saying. “Yes, let’s set that up,” but nothing ever came of it.

“When are my friends coming over?” Christian would ask.