Recognizing Orion Jean

Floor Speech

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Mr. ELLZEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the floor today and bring attention to an extraordinary young man from Mansfield, Texas, named Orion Jean.

In 2020, Orion was selected as the National Kindness Speech Contest Winner. With the cash prize that Orion received from the speech contest, he created his own initiative focused on community and kindness, called Race to Kindness.

His first project was Race to 500 Toys. Orion collected and personally donated over 600 books to the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, but Orion did not stop there. He continued on with his next Race to Kindness project, Race to 100,000 Meals. With the support of local communities and nonprofit organizations, Orion fed over 100,000 people during Thanksgiving 2020.

Orion's efforts not only reached the people of District 6, but with his most recent endeavor, Race to 500,000 Books, he has collected 500,000 books and is distributing them to Mansfield Independent School District, Fort Worth Independent School District, and Dallas Independent School District, along with several literacy organizations.

Just when you think this young man could not get any more impressive, he is also a published author with his debut book, ``A Kids Book About Leadership,'' which encourages children to discover the power of leadership that resides within themselves.

He has appeared on Good Morning America and The Ellen Show, where he received a $10,000 donation for Race to Kindness. And right now, Orion is a Top 5 finalist for Time's Kid of the Year 2021.

Orion's goal is to pull kindness to the forefront and show the true power of community and how those two qualities can change people's lives. We should all strive to be more like Orion Jean.

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