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Two-year-old Braxton Abeywardena of Hollister needs local support.
He’s made it to the quarterfinals of Baby of The Year, a national contest run by Colossal Management, LLC to celebrate babies under 24 months old. The competition raises money for Baby2Baby, a nationwide nonprofit established in 2011 and based in Los Angeles.
Spearheaded by Norah Weinstein and Kelly Sawyer Patricof, Colossal has distributed over 35 million emergency supplies such as diapers, formula and clothing to children and their families across the U.S.
Since 2024, parents nationwide have entered their babies and toddlers, who at the time of entry, must be under 24 months old. When they enter, they send a photograph and short profile on their child to the organization for a chance to win $25,000, be featured in a national ad campaign with The Honest Company, the official charitable partner of Baby2baby, and be featured in an advertorial in Variety Magazine.
Braxton is currently in third place in the quarterfinals. Locals can visit https://babyoftheyear.org/2026/braxton-4beb to cast their vote before the Oct. 22 deadline.
A sweet and vibrant two-year-old, Braxton’s parents said he has been ahead of standard child milestones both academically and emotionally.
“The way he can gravitate towards people is so special,” said Justine Rios, Braxton’s mother. “He’s very aware of people’s feelings, he’s able to grasp concepts that are a little bit above his milestone period.”
Rios discovered the competition through Instagram two years ago but, being a new mom, was unable to participate. This year she discovered the contest and decided to enter Braxton.
“I’ve never posted him online,” she said. “My reservations were about making sure I was protecting him as well as being his advocate. But then I thought about the opportunity as well, and this is great exposure for him and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime amount of money we could win.”
According to Rios, among the things that make Braxton special is his heightened awareness of the feelings of others, as well as grasping concepts that are advanced in comparison to the milestone period for his age group.
“Right before he turned two he was counting to 20,” Rios said. “He’s able to count to 30 and he knows all his colors and shapes, he can identify 10 letters out of the alphabet already.”
As for Braxton’s emotional intelligence, Rios said she has been amazed by his mindfulness of others and his ability to feel deeply for the people around him.
She said that when the family took a trip to Los Angeles, they saw an elderly man fall. Braxton was so affected by the incident that he repeated the phrase “grandpa fell, grandpa fell” for weeks afterward.
Currently, Braxton is into Spiderman, fire trucks, music, and talking to his family in Sri Lanka.
Asked why she thought Braxton deserved to win the competition, Rios said, “He’s very loving, happy, and he likes to give back as well, so I think that he would be a great person to win, to portray what the Honest Company stands for, as well as Baby2Baby.”
After making it through the competition’s main round of 30 babies, where Braxton placed second, he was entered into the wildcard round. After winning that round, Braxton made it into the quarterfinals where he is now competing.
To win, Braxton would still need to make it through the semifinals and then the finals.
Braxton’s grandmother, who lives in Los Angeles, has been helping obtain votes by spreading the word about the competition, even encouraging people at the high school where she works to vote.
Rios’s partner Dan Abeywardena has family in Sri Lanka who are encouraging their extended family and friends to vote. Rios said she is hoping that her local community will also support Braxton.
“I would love for the community to rally around one of their own,” she said.
Rios said being a part of this competition has brought her family closer together.
“Sometimes we don’t get to talk to each other,” she said. “We’re all so busy, so we’ve definitely been in more contact recently. They’re all very competitive, so it’s been fun.”
Rios said that if Braxton wins, she would put a portion of the money toward his education as well as do something fun, like make a memory that her family could treasure.
She said she had no idea that her son would make it this far.
“Now that he’s here I’m so excited and I really want to do as much as I can to raise awareness for this charitable organization,” Rios said. “I want my son to win the chance of a lifetime.”
The BenitoLink Internship Program is a paid, skill-building program that prepares local youth for a professional career. This program is supported by Monterey Peninsula Foundation AT&T Golf Tour and Taylor Farms.
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