They clean up rivers, build homes for disabled veterans and bring health care to some of the darkest parts of the world. They help children who are fighting cancer, living in poverty and a lack of opportunity — the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2013.
For their extraordinary efforts to change the world, each of these everyday people will receive $50,000 on “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” a globally broadcast event that airs December 1.
One of the top 10 will receive an additional $250,000 for their cause if the public chooses them as the CNN Hero of the Year.
You can vote for your favorite Hero now at CNNHeroes.com. The winner will be revealed during the televised tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper.
This is the seventh year CNN has conducted its annual search for CNN top hero. In those years, the campaign has profiled more than 200 people on CNN and CNN.com.
Dale Beatty – After Dale Beatty lost his legs in the Iraq war, his community thanked him for his service by helping him build a home. To pay it forward, Beatty co-founded Purple Heart Homes, which has helped build or modify homes for dozens of disabled U.S. veterans (pictured above). “We wouldn’t leave someone behind on the battlefield,” Beatty said. “Why would we do it at home?”
WATCH or read here
Georges Bwelle – For decades, Georges Bwelle watched his father suffer, unable to get the medical attention he needed. Now a doctor, Bwelle travels into the jungles of his native Cameroon nearly every weekend, providing free medical care for those who don’t have access to good health care. “To make people laugh, to reduce the pain, that’s why I’m doing this,” he said.
WATCH or Read on CNN
Robin Emmons – More than 72,000 people in Charlotte, North Carolina, lack access to fresh produce. When Robin Emmons discovered this problem, she took action. “I decided to rip up my whole backyard and make it all a garden for people in need,” she said. Since 2008, Emmons has grown more than 26,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables for area residents.
READ more here
Danielle Gletow – Foster children don’t often get the things other children do, but Danielle Gletow is trying to help change that. She posts their wishes online so the public can help grant them. “I’m here to be the mom to all these kids who might not feel like they have one,” she said. Since 2008, her group has helped grant more than 6,500 wishes in 42 states.
WATCH or read here
Tawanda Jones is using dance to empower the youth of Camden, New Jersey, one of the poorest cities in the country. Through Jones’ drill team program, at least 4,000 children have learned discipline, respect and community service — and all of them have graduated high school. “We need to take back our city and, most importantly, take back our youth,” Jones said.
WATCH here
Richard Nares – For many children fighting cancer, it can be extremely tough to make it to their chemotherapy appointments. But Richard Nares started a group that gives them transportation and support. “No child should miss their cancer treatment due to lack of transportation,” said Nares, who lost his son to leukemia in 2000.
WATCH or read CNN
Kakenya Ntaiya is inspiring change in her native Kenyan village. After becoming the first woman in the village to attend college in the United States, she returned to open the village’s first primary school for girls. “Our work is about empowering the girls,” Ntaiya said. “They are dreaming of becoming lawyers, teachers, doctors.”
WATCH or read on CNN
Chad Pregracke – has made it his life’s work to clean up the Mississippi River and other American waterways. Since 1998, about 70,000 volunteers have helped Pregracke remove more than 7 million pounds of garbage from 22 rivers across the country. “Picking up garbage, it’s tough, miserable and hot,” Pregracke said. “We try to make it fun.”
WATCH or read here
Estella Pyfrom used her life savings to create “Estella’s Brilliant Bus,” a mobile computer lab that provides tutoring for thousands of low-income students in Palm Beach County, Florida. “It’s not just a bus, it’s a movement,” Pyfrom said. “And we’re going to keep making a difference.”
WATCH here
Laura Stachel created a special “solar suitcase” to help health-care workers deliver babies in more than 20 developing countries. “I really want a world where women can deliver babies safely and with dignity,” Stachel said.
WATCH here
As part of their award package, each top 10 Hero will also receive free organizational training from the Annenberg Foundation, a leading supporter of nonprofits worldwide. The Heroes will participate in a customized version of the Annenberg Alchemy program, which offers practical guidance to help strengthen organizations for long-term success.