Orion Jean may be young, but he is on a mission to spread the gift of reading with hundreds-of-thousands of children.
According to CBS News, Jean is ten years old but the number fixed in his mind is 500,000, the outlet reported Thursday.
That large number is how many books the Texas boy is hoping will be donated by the close of August.
“I want to be able to share my love of literacy with as many people as possible,” he explained.
Last year, he won a student kindness contest where he shared his special campaign.
“Kindness is a virtue we can all possess. If we are willing to,” he noted, adding, “So why not start today. Because right now, it’s what we need more than ever.”
Jean said winning the contest “was really just the catalyst to something so much bigger. It started out as an idea but here we are today, the race to kindness was born.”
His Race to Kindness website features a list of events and drop-off locations.
Jean shared a photo of himself and others at a recent book fair and said, “It was so great seeing other kids enjoy looking for their new books to take home and love!”:
Thanks to the $500 contest prize, he was able to donate toys to a Dallas Children’s hospital; through food drives and help from a relief organization, he helped gather 100,000 meals for local families.
“It’s all about my moral duty to help people,” he commented. “You know, it’s my responsibility to be able to see these people who need help and knowing that I have the resources to help them.”
According to the CBS report, Jean has collected 120,000 books and is asking citizens across the country to donate their used books.
“I hope that the impact that I have had is enough to keep people continuing to race to kindness and continuing to join me in this marathon because it’s not a sprint,” Jean stated. “It’s not a one-time thing, it’s not a three-time thing. It’s something that can hopefully be continued on for years and years to come.”
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