“If we continue giving back, then it makes us feel like we’re getting something just simply by being kind,” Orion Jean said.
An 11-year-old from Texas has made it his mission to make the world a kinder place.
Orion Jean was named TIME’s Kid of the Year for 2021 after yet another year of paying it forward.
“For me, it can take on so many different forms from just smiling at somebody or holding the door, or even donating food to a local food bank or giving away old toys that you don’t need,” Jean said.
For Jean, it all began two years ago when he won the National Kindness Speech Contest
“At the time that I wrote the speech, COVID was really beginning to pick up. The world seemed like it had shut down and hope was like–it was like, Where is it? Where is the hope? Where’s the love? Where is the kindness?”
His winning speech earned him a $500 prize, but he didn’t use that money to buy a video game or go get some sweet treats.
Instead, Jean paid it forward again, creating Race to Kindness–an initiative to support kindness projects in his community.
WATCH: Disney Parks surprises amazing 11-year-old for “Magical Christmas Day Parade”
11-year-old Orion Jean is on a mission to answer one question: How can kindness change a nation? Watch the full @Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade on ABC Saturday, December 25th at 10am EST.
The first kindness project was a toy drive to benefit patients at a local children’s hospital.
When that finished, he moved on to a food drive, delivering 100,000 meals to families in need in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area.
But he didn’t stop there. The next event was a book drive where Jean collected and delivered 500,000 books to kids at book fairs across the country.
“I used the things that I saw on the news every day,” Jean explained. “People losing their jobs and their homes and access to food and books and clothing–things we sometimes can take for granted, and with a little bit of kindness, we can hopefully give back those things. If we continue giving back, then it makes us feel like we’re getting something just simply by being kind.”
News
9-year-old girl deadlifts 165 pounds — 3 times her body weight — in wild video-thaoo
She put the “her” in “Hercules.” Nine-year-old Indian weightlifter Arshia Goswami proved that powerful things can come in small packages after she deadlifted a back-breaking 165 pounds,…
Hero mom saves 17-day-old baby in cardiac arrest by performing CPR: ‘He was blue’-thaoo
Lucy Robin woke up to find her 17-day-old blue, freezing cold and not breathing — instantly assuming the worst. Lucy Robin / SWNS A mom saved her baby’s…
Guinness crowns toddler the youngest-ever male artist — and his paintings are selling fast-thaoo
A toddler from Ghana has become the world’s youngest artist, according to Guinness World Records. Ace-Liam Nana Sam Ankrah, who was 1 year and 152 days old when…
Boy, 5, who was born without left hand ‘glowing’ after receiving ‘Iron Man’ bionic arm-thaoo
A Long Island boy born without a left hand achieved superhero status his week. Jordan Marotta, 5, became the youngest-ever recipient of a top-of-the-line bionic arm, decked out —…
This 100-year-old great-grandma was a top welder during WW2 — and now she keeps fit with a crazy workout-thaoo
In the wake of the 80th anniversary of D-Day, a local woman who was part of the war effort is calling attention to the oft-forgotten young gals…
Sean “Diddy” Combs Revealed to Be Among Investors in Elon Musk’s X Launch-thaoo
The company was ordered by a court to publicly share a list of its investors in a lawsuit seeking payment for arbitration-related expenses. Sean “Diddy” Combs;…
End of content
No more pages to load