LI 1-Year-Old Leads 'Baby Of The Year' Group As Voting Deadline Nears

EAST ROCKAWAY, NY — An East Rockaway 1-year-old is leading his group in a national Baby of the Year competition as the first major elimination deadline approaches.

Jasper Pulice, who recently celebrated his first birthday, was in first place in his Group Finals group as of Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Voting in the round ends Thursday, Oct. 8, at 10 p.m.

The top competitor in each Group Finals group will advance to the Quarterfinals. Second-place finishers will have another opportunity to advance during a Wildcard Round scheduled for Oct. 9 through Oct. 11.

Jasper's parents, Elizabeth Burns and Corrado Pulice, said entering the competition started casually.

Burns, a customer of The Honest Company who also follows Baby2Baby, said she discovered the contest through Instagram around August.

“We saw it as a fun opportunity to sort of celebrate this stage of Jasper's life," Burns said. "When we realized every vote supports children in need, and if Jasper wins, we could give back. It felt like something bigger than just a personality contest.”

Jasper was placed into a voting group after entering and soon began holding his own among the other competitors.

“We've been, you know, checking on the dashboard and he's always been in the top five,” Burns said. “We kind of branded him as New York's little charmer.”

Burns said the support that followed encouraged the family to put more effort behind his campaign.

“I didn't think too much of it when we entered, and it's been lovely to see the support and the votes that he has received along the way,” she said. “We're so grateful for everybody who has voted for him, and just kind of delighted that he's been in the spotlight.”

A Long Island Family Campaign

Although the family now lives in East Rockaway, Jasper's campaign reaches across several Nassau County communities.
Burns and Pulice both grew up in Oceanside and later lived in Long Beach.

Their 5-year-old daughter Sabine attends school in the Lynbrook School District, and Pulice said the family regularly travels among East Rockaway, Rockville Centre, Valley Stream and Lynbrook for school, sports, clubs and other activities.

Jasper's competition profile adds that Jasper likes splashing in water, moving to music and being surrounded by his family.

His favorite song is “Volare” by the Gipsy Kings, according to the profile, and his family says Sabine gets some of his biggest laughs.

$25,000 Prize — And Plans To Give Some Away

The 2026 Baby of the Year winner is slated to receive $25,000 and appear in a nationwide advertising campaign for The Honest Company. The contest website says the campaign will span digital, social, print, retail and out-of-home media, with the winner also appearing in an advertorial in Variety.

“The memory and the experience of having him featured in something nationwide would be a fun, a fun way to celebrate, his sort of first year,” Burns said.

But the couple has already decided they would not keep all of the $25,000 if Jasper wins. In addition to the contest's support for Baby2Baby, Burns and Pulice said they would donate portions of the prize to Cohen Children's Medical Center and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

When the family's daughter Sabine was around Jasper's current age, she suffered a head injury and needed further testing and diagnostic care at Cohen Children's, Pulice said. The injury was serious, but Sabine recovered and is doing well.

What remained with her parents was how the hospital treated both their daughter and them during the frightening experience.

“We'd like to give back to Cohen's in a way that we can, and we would like to think that whatever we do give is going to be paid forward to the next family that walks through their doors,” Pulice said.

The family's proposed donation to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children stems from a desire to keep children safe.

Pulice cited the organization's work with families and law enforcement, including efforts involving missing children, tip lines and educational resources.

How The Competition Works

Baby of the Year benefits Baby2Baby, a national nonprofit that provides necessities to children in need. According to the competition website, participants receive one free daily vote, while additional votes can be obtained through donations supporting Baby2Baby.

The competition says its Baby of the Year program has helped provide a $45 million grant to Baby2Baby.

The contest is powered by Colossal, which describes itself as a nationally registered professional fundraiser that operates online competitions benefiting charitable causes.

Jasper is currently in the Group Finals, which began Oct. 1 and end Oct. 8. The first-place competitor in each group advances to the Quarterfinals.

Those who finish second will enter a Wildcard Round from Oct. 9 through Oct. 11. Votes are reset for that stage, and the top competitor in each wildcard group advances.

The Quarterfinals run from Oct. 12 through Oct. 22, with votes reset and one competitor from each group moving to the Semifinals. The Semifinals run from Oct. 23 through Oct. 29, followed by the Finals from Oct. 30 through Nov. 5.
Votes reset at each stage.

The overall winner is expected to be announced on or before Dec. 5, according to the competition timeline provided by the family.

With Jasper within reach of the Quarterfinals, the Pulice family is hoping that the competition can become a source of both Long Island pride and help for other children.

“For Sabine and Jasper to look back at this and say this is what was going on and this is what our family's doing, is part of our family identity to give back,” Pulice said. “It gives them a lot of direction going forward.”

Readers can vote for Jasper here.