People from all around the country started making online donations to aid Kayla Howard, a single mother of four sons from Phoenix, Arizona, when her 7-year-old son accidentally made purchases on Roblox.
The popular game Roblox was being played by Kayla’s autistic son when he unintentionally made several purchases totaling $897. It surpassed her bank account’s limit, resulting in overdraft fees and a more than $1,000 negative balance.
To raise her four children—three of whom have autism—Kayla Howard, a single mother, works two jobs. To aid with the bills created by her son’s mistake, she created a GoFundMe campaign. The precise amount her account was negative, $1,244, was the goal she set.
Howard was shocked to learn that they had raised ten times their target. She received sympathy from strangers, some of whom could identify with the Roblox spending error and are also single mothers or parents of autistic children. She ultimately won $10,979 in total.
“Thank you to everyone who supported myself and my children during this time. Thank you for reminding me that there are good people in this world,” Howard told Good Morning America.
Howard said she used some of the money to buy a Christmas tree to decorate with her kids. She also bought gifts for them. She now plans to use the extra donations to give back to the community.
“What I’m most excited about doing is actually starting a non-profit named after my daughter specifically to help families of children with autism,” she said.
Moreover, Kayla Howard said Roblox, which initially only agreed to a $10.80 refund, have since refunded her money after her story gained attention. She also said that she has since made necessary changes to the Roblox apps on her children’s devices to prevent the mistake from happening again.