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The CNN Hero of the Year will be announced Sunday night at the annual Heroes tribute show
That person will get an additional $250,000 to continue their work helping others
You can decide who gets that money: vote online or from your mobile device
To learn more about each nonprofit and where your money would go, here are the top 10 Heroes in alphabetical order:
Voting ends by the end of the day Wednesday (11:59 p.m. PT), a few days prior to Sunday’s live telecast of “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute.”
The annual tribute show, hosted by Anderson Cooper in Los Angeles, recognizes the top 10 CNN Heroes – everyday people doing extraordinary things to better the lives of others.
Each of the top 10 gets $50,000 to continue their work, but the Hero of the Year will get an additional $250,000. Who will that person be? You can help decide by voting on cnnheroes.com or your mobile device.
“CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” airs live around the world Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Celebrities scheduled to appear include actresses Susan Sarandon, Maria Bello and Viola Davis; actors Harvey Keitel, Rainn Wilson and Josh Duhamel; hip-hop artist 50 Cent; and athletes Jeff Gordon and Cullen Jones. R&B singer Ne-Yo and “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips will be performing live during the show.
Here, in alphabetical order, are the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2012:
Pushpa Basnet
Pushpa Basnet was shocked to learn that children in Nepal were living in prisons with their parents. In 2005, she started a children’s center that has provided support, such as housing, education and medical care, to more than 140 children of incarcerated parents.
Did you know … Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to UNICEF, 55% of the population lives below the international poverty line. It lacks the social safety net that exists in most Western nations. Space is extremely limited in the few children’s homes affiliated with the government.
In her words: “It’s not fair for (these) children to live in the prison, because they haven’t done anything wrong. My mission is to make sure no child grows up behind prison walls.”
Donate to the Early Childhood Development Center
Wanda Butts
Nonprofit: The Josh Project
What it does: Provides low-cost swimming lessons for hundreds of children in Toledo, Ohio. Most of the children in the program are minorities like Butts, who lost her 16-year-old son because he didn’t know how to swim. Statistics show that minority children in the United States are more likely to drown than white children.
Butts says: “Our objective is to change the drowning statistics. Drowning is preventable if you know the rules. Awareness, education and knowledge are key. That was something I did not have.”
Donate to the Josh Project
Mary Cortani
Nonprofit: Operation Freedom Paws
What it does: Helps U.S. war veterans train their own service dogs. Many Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are suffering from invisible wounds such as post-traumatic stress disorder, and some of them are finding it easier to cope thanks to canine companions.
Cortani says: “Being a veteran myself, I understand loss of purpose, the mission. Training their own service dog gives them that and more. It gives them a shot at a quality life again.”
Donate to Operation Freedom Paws
Catalina Escobar
Nonprofit: Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation
What it does: Provides counseling, education and job training to more than 2,000 teenage mothers in Colombia, where one in five girls age 15-19 is or has been pregnant. The group also runs a medical center that has brought health care to tens of thousands of children whose families couldn’t otherwise afford it.
Escobar says: “I want my girls to be empowered. Earning money provides them with independence and allows them to gain back control of their lives.”
Donate to the Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation
Razia Jan
Nonprofit: Razia’s Ray of Hope
What it does: Operates a free school for girls in Afghanistan, where many terrorists will stop at nothing to keep girls from getting an education. There were at least 185 documented attacks on schools and hospitals in Afghanistan last year, according to the United Nations. The majority were attributed to armed groups opposed to girls’ education.
Jan says: “It took a lot of determination and courage to build the first girls school in an area where the girls did not count. Now, with hard work, I have proven to the men of seven villages surrounding the school that this is the best thing that’s happened for their daughters.”
Donate to Razia’s Ray of Hope
Thulani Madondo
Nonprofit: Kliptown Youth Project
What it does: Provides academic support, including tutoring, meals and school uniforms, to 400 children who live in the slums of Kliptown, South Africa. Kliptown has long suffered from high rates of unemployment, crime and school dropouts.
Madondo says: “(We) want to break the poverty cycle that has existed for many decades. This will be done through formal and nonformal education, where people will be empowered in things they are good at. … We believe that if people are guided to what they are interested in, that is setting them up for success.”
Donate to the Kliptown Youth Program
Leo McCarthy
Nonprofit: Mariah’s Challenge
What it does: Gives college scholarships to teenagers who pledge not to drink while they’re underage. Nearly $150,000 in scholarship money has been awarded by the group, which started after McCarthy’s 14-year-old daughter Mariah was killed by an underage drunken driver in Butte, Montana.
McCarthy says: “I want this to be a platform for people to say: ‘OK, I don’t want to be like that guy who killed Mariah. But I need some help, because I’m getting group pressure.’ … I’m not asking you to say no to drugs. I’m asking you to say yes to yourself and a life of simple self-respect.”
Donate to Mariah’s Challenge
Connie Siskowski
Nonprofit: American Association of Caregiving Youth
What it does: Supports young people who have to take care of an ill, disabled or aging family member. Since 2006, the group has provided assistance to more than 550 young caregivers in Palm Beach County, Florida.
Siskowski says: “We’re not advocating that children should do this or be in this position, but they are. So we want to make it as safe as possible and arm them with the knowledge base that they need.”
Donate to the American Association of Caregiving Youth
Scott Strode
Nonprofit: Phoenix Multisport
What it does: Provides free athletic activities and a sober support community to more than 6,000 participants in Colorado. It offers dozens of programs every week, from casual walks and yoga to mountain biking and ice climbing.
Strode says: “Phoenix Multisport prides itself on our ability to help recovering addicts and alcoholics repair their self-esteem. Many of us in recovery had our dreams stripped away during our alcohol and drug use. The Phoenix Multisport community helps give those dreams back through standing on top of mountains and crossing finish lines.”
Donate to Phoenix Multisport
Malya Villard-Appolon
Nonprofit: KOFAVIV (a Creole acronym that translates into the Commission of Women Victims for Victims)
What it does: Offers safety, medical care and legal aid to rape victims in Haiti. Gender-based violence has been an issue in Haiti for years, according to Villard-Appolon, and her group has seen an increase in rape cases since the 2010 earthquake.
Villard-Appolon says: “We tell people to come out of silence. Do not be afraid to say that you have been victimized.”
Donate to KOFAVIV