Texas boy on a mission to donate 500,000 books by the end of the month

[August 8, 2021: The Brighter Side of News]

Orion Jean is 10-year-old boy on a mission. Before the end of the month, he wants to donate 500,000 books to children in Fort-Worth Texas.

"I want to be able to share my love of literacy with as many people as possible," he told CBS News. 

In 2020, Jean won a student kindness contest where he displayed his own campaign of compassion. "Kindness is a virtue we can all possess. If we are willing to," he said. "So why not start today. Because right now, it's what we need more than ever."

Winning that 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" according to Jean.

With his $500 prize, Jean donated toys to a Dallas Children's hospital. Next, through food drives and partnering with a relief group, he helped collect 100,000 meals for Texas families. Now, he is focusing on providing books to children who may not have access to them at home.

"It's all about my moral duty to help people," he said. "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."

With 120,000 books collected so far, Jean is asking people across the country to give away 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 said. "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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Tags: #Good_News, #Kindness, #Charity, #Donations, #Reading, #Literacy, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News