Meet Orion

Orion Jean is TIME’s 2021 Kid of the Year. The news was announced on Nickelodeon on February 9. What makes Orion special? He leads campaigns × campaign DIGITAL VISION./GETTY IMAGES a series of activities designed to produce a particular result (noun) If you would like to be voted class president, you must run a good election campaign. . They focus on helping others.

Orion started his first campaign after winning the National Kindness Speech Contest. That was in 2020. In his speech, Orion said kindness is a virtue × virtue KLAUS VEDFELT—GETTY IMAGES a good quality (noun) Joseph possesses the virtue of kindness. we can all have. “So why not start today?” he says.

Orion Jean celebrates his win as TIME’s Kid of the Year for 2021.

Spreading Joy

Orion won a $500 prize from the speech contest. He used it to buy toys. He gave them to patients at a children’s hospital in Texas. He wanted others to donate too. So he started the Race to 500 Toys.

Orion didn’t stop there. He saw that people in his community were hungry. He teamed up with others to collect thousands of meals. He also started a campaign to give books to students. He worked with organizations × organization JOSE LUIS PELAEZ INC—GETTY IMAGES a company, business, or group that is formed for a specific purpose (noun) I set up an organization to help people in need of food. to collect half a million books in just a few months.

“When people come together for a common cause, great things can happen,” Orion says.