He’s sparking a movement!
A 10-year-old Texas boy is on a mission to spread kindness through his charitable endeavors, Yahoo! Life reports.
Orion Jean first began his mission last year when his elementary school Teacher suggested the then 9-year-old enter the National Kindness Speech Contest.
“I decided that I was just going to give it a shot and see how it would go,” recalled Orion.
He ended up giving a speech about how kindness could “change a nation,” winning the competition and receiving a $500 cash award. Immediately, Orion began thinking of ways to use all of his money.
“I’m a kid. I have everything that I could ever want. But there are people who don’t,” Orion said.
That’s when he decided he would use the money to help others and truly spread kindness. Orion says his parents have always taught him that “kindness is a virtue that we should all try to possess.” Those lessons sparked the idea for the Race to Kindness campaign, a series of events launched by the 10-year-old to spread kindness.
“[It was] just an idea where I hoped that I would be able to spread kindness and people would be able to join the race by spreading kindness in their own communities,” Orion said.
It started with the prize money, which Orion used to purchase toys for children in the hospital who may not have seen their parents as much during the pandemic. He brought as many toys as possible and then hosted a toy drive to gather more, collecting more than 600 toys he donated to the Children’s Health Hospital in Dallas.
“What better way to take a child’s mind off of something than [with] a toy? [I hoped it would] put a smile on someone’s face…It was one of the best experiences of my life,” Orion said.
After that, he launched the “Race to 100,000 meals,” an initiative to help food-insecure people in his community during Thanksgiving 2020. Orion’s organization partnered with Dallas-based company TangoTab to help get 100,000 meals donated to those who needed one during the Thanksgiving holiday.
“The need in my community has always been there…We were able to not only reach but [also] surpass our goal of 100,000 meals,” Orion said.
This past May, Orion revved up efforts again, launching the “Race to 500,000 Books” to help families who can’t afford books or who may live in what he’s calling “book deserts.” The campaign is underway and set to end on August 31st; Orion wants to collect as many books as possible.
“I am a huge book fan. Studies do show that children who have books in their homes do better academically…We hope that people continue to donate to nonprofit literacy organizations in their community because the race is never over,” Orion said.
Photo Courtesy of Race to Kindness
Now, the self-proclaimed kindness activist has written a book entitled “A Kid’s Book about Leadership,” scheduled to hit shelves in the fall. He hopes that his random acts of kindness will inspire others, young and old, to get involved and do the same in their communities.
“It doesn’t have to be about toys or food or books as long as someone is being helped. And as long as you’re being kind to someone, that counts as a part of the Race to Kindness. We are all capable of being kind people. So long as you’re helping people and making them feel loved, that is what it’s all about,” Orion said.
To learn more about the Race to Kindness campaign, click here.
Photo Courtesy of Race to Kindness