Fort Worth-area student, 10, launches ‘race to kindness’ food drive of 100,000 meals

It’s hard to run a race when you’re hungry.

And Orion Jean loves to run races — those of a special kind that make him and many others feel good.

The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD fifth-grader, who has made a habit of doing good for others, is back at it with his Race to 100,000 Meals food drive.

“I’m asking everyone to join me in a race to kindness,” Orion said. “This has been a rough year for everybody, and now it’s more important than ever to show support and love to anyone who needs it.”

Orion, 10, knows what it’s like to bring a smile to someone’s face and a bit of happiness to their otherwise struggling lives.

Earlier this fall, the Chisholm Ridge Elementary student collected and donated hundreds of toys for hospitalized children in Dallas through his Race to 500 Toys drive. The drive made national news, and the toy company Melissa & Doug surprised him on “Good Morning America” with an additional donation to help him exceed his goal.

Over the summer, Orion won the Think Kindness National Speech contest, where he urged others to show compassion through action. As champion, he was given $500 to start his own kindness project, where he went on to collect toys for hospitalized children.

Now, he aims to donate thousands of meals to people in need by Thanksgiving through his Race to 100,000 Meals food drive. As of early November he had collected more than 37,000 meals.

“After my Race to 500 Toys, I knew that I wanted to do something that could have an even larger impact. I have been volunteering with TangoTab (www.tangotab.com) ever since I was in the second grade, and thought they would be a great partner to work with. They collect meals for people in need every Saturday and work with other organizations throughout the country to feed those most in need.

“We talked about doing 20,000 meals or even 50,000 meals, but in my head, that just wasn’t good enough. There was just way too many people in our country, my age and all ages that needed access to food. I finally threw out the number 100,000. I wasn’t sure if we could even do it, but I knew we had to try. I want to help as many people as possible have at least one day without hunger.”

At a recent event in late October, Orion got plenty of help from folks in his community. They donated packed meals containing a bottle of water, two tangerines or one apple in a zipped sandwich bag, one applesauce cup or tuna pouch, and one packaged granola bar. The contents were inside a brown sack with a positive message written on it.

“The day of the event, we had people come from all over the Metroplex, including Southlake, Mansfield, Aubrey, Burleson, and Lewisville, to drop off their packed bags. Some even showed up with monetary donations,” he said. “It was amazing to see the kindness spreading all around.”

In all, that event resulted in almost 2,000 meals being collected. Shortly after, two other events brought in around 7,000.

Orion began collecting donations Oct. 10.

He gets his giving spirit from his family, Orion said. Plus, he’s just a giving person.

“Knowing that there are many people within our country without access to food, and knowing that I can in some small way help make a difference, makes me want to give while getting others involved,” he said. “My family has also played a major role by helping to shape my giving spirit as they have always led by example and stressed the importance of being kind to others.”

Orion said there will be drop-off events every Saturday until Thanksgiving. They can be found at www.racetokindness.com. Also, he said he partnered with the nationwide jewelry brand, Kendra Scott, for World Kindness Day, on Friday, Nov. 13 to co-host a drop-off event at their University Park Village location (1612 S. University Drive, Ste. 401-C in Fort Worth) and on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 1-3 p.m. at The Shops of Clearfork (5217 Marathon Ave. in Fort Worth).

In addition, shoppers can elect to have 20% of their purchase donated to Race to Kindness as part of their Shop for Good philanthropy program on both of those days using the code-GIVEBACK-0CC6.

Orion said the Race to 100,000 Meals has never been about him collecting the meals alone. He wanted to launch a cause that could inspire others across the country and world to participate in their local communities and help those in need.

“I wanted families to use this as an opportunity to come together, sit around the kitchen table and do something that could change the life of someone else, while doing something that makes them feel good,” he said. “This is an opportunity for young people like me to get a better understanding about the importance of caring for others and the impact it could have on our lives in the long run.

“ ... I know we can do it. In times where it seems like nothing is right, it’s best to make sure people are doing well.”